NHL on Thin Ice? Pride Tape Fiasco Raises Doubts on 'Hockey is for Everyone' Claim

For those familiar with ice hockey, specialty jerseys are the norm for specific events, as teams have donned these special uniforms for the warm-ups at events including, but not limited to: Hockey Fights Cancer, Military Appreciation night and St. Patrick’s Day, to Black History Month, Women’s History Month, the Lunar New Year, Hispanic Heritage, and Indigenous Celebration. Perhaps the most notable of these nights are the Pride Nights, which, unlike many of these other events, are mandated league-wide.

Indeed, Pride has been a long-standing part of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) recent history in the 2010s. The Stanley Cup first appeared at the Chicago Pride parade in 2010. A few years later, in 2013, the league partnered with the You Can Play Project, which advocates for LGBTQ+ participation in sports. Moreover, the NHL added team Pride ambassadors in 2016-17 for each team. Pride Nights have since become integral parts of the fabric of the sport, with teams using rainbow, or Pride, tape on their sticks since the Edmonton Oilers did so in January of 2016, as well as often wearing pride jerseys during the warm-up of games.

Tuesday, 17th January was the scheduled pride night of the Philadelphia Flyers, where the entire team was scheduled to wear their pride jerseys out in warmups to show their support for the LGBTQ+ communities.  Russian defenceman Ivan Provorov, however, was conspicuously absent from warmups, citing his Russian Orthodox religion as the reason for not wearing the jersey in warmups. The NHL commented on the situation, noting that “‘clubs decide whom to celebrate, when and how’ with both league counsel and support. However, the league added that ‘players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues.’

The lack of pushback from the team, with coach John Tortorella believing that Provorov’s absence didn’t detract from the message of the ‘great… Pride Night’ that the team just had had, only opened the door to more debate. The following weeks and months would see seven other NHLers (a sum representing only 1% of the league’s total skaters)  refuse to wear Pride jerseys for warmups.

Some of these would be Russians, claiming a recent law pronounced by Vladimir Putin in December of 2022, despite the league’s statements to The Athletic that it had no reason to believe players were at material risk for wearing the jerseys. Others, including brothers Marc & Eric Staal, along with San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer, would similarly refuse to wear the jerseys in March of 2023. All three would cite their Christian faith, with the latter stating that ‘I just came to the conviction through my faith that it went against what I believe the bible says.’ Similarly, other NHL franchises, including the Chicago Blackhawks, would cancel their pride nights as a result of this action, or not wear the themed jerseys.

Another significant development came over the summer during the NHL Board of Governor Meetings, where long-serving commissioner Gary Bettman came out with a notable statement, saying:

‘I've suggested that it would be appropriate for clubs not to change their jerseys in warmups because it's become a distraction and taking away from the fact that all of our clubs in some form or another host nights in honour of various groups or causes… we would rather them continue to get the appropriate attention that they deserve and not be a distraction.’

Despite not being the most hated of the four major North American sports league commissioners (Robert Manfred has that undistinguished honour), Bettman is by no means beloved by hockey fans across North America. Nevertheless, despite the dislike from fans, the thirty-two team owners have consistently backed the commissioner over his long-standing tenure; this statement is no exception.

What followed was another memo sent by the league’s front office to the board of governors on 5th October, titled ‘Game and Practice-Related Special Initiatives.’ The most inflammatory part of this memo reads as follows:

‘Players shall not be put in the position of having to demonstrate (or where they may be appearing to demonstrate) personal support for any Special Initiatives. A factor that may be considered in this regard includes, for example, whether a Player (or Players) is required to be in close proximity to any groups or individuals visibly or otherwise clearly associated with such Special Initiative(s).’

This most recent memo boils down to, quite simply, a ‘Don’t Say Gay’ policy that is a distinct rejection of the NHL’s motto that ‘Hockey is for Everyone’. Rather than being inclusive, and looking to work through challenging issues, the league sought to remove any sense of agency from players to be allies to the LGBTQ+ community.

As such, many players responded harshly to the NHL’s policy. Minnesota Wild defenseman Jon Merrill expressed his support for using Pride tape despite the ban, saying ‘What is the league going to do? Take me off the ice? Give me a penalty? Then you look bad as a league. I don’t know. It’s upsetting. Just disappointing.’ Similarly, Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton also told reporters that ‘You’ll probably see me with the Pride tape’ before the Flyers’ Pride night on 10th January. Others, however, were more muted, stating their support but not wanting to risk being fined or banned for making such gestures.

The most notable, however, was long-time LGBTQ+ ally and Arizona Coyotes defenceman Travis Dermott, who would become the first player to defy the NHL’s ban on Saturday, 22nd October by putting Pride tape on the top of his stick. Much pushback came from this, with many wondering if the NHL would crack down, even though the NHL’s rulebook stipulates that ‘tape of any colour’ may be used on a stick.

However, two days later, the NHL repealed its policy, releasing a statement on 24th October which said that they would allow players to use the tape.

It seems ridiculous – a league which prided itself on allyship even before the Obergefell v. Hodges decision decided to make a panicked, reactionary move that stopped players from making the simplest gesture, all before then reversing course and losing face. What will specifically occur in the next few months as other teams host their pride nights remains to be seen. The fact that only 1% of NHL players have caused such a distinct backslide for a league that has been one of the most progressive of the four major leagues in North America is certainly something to be concerned over with the future of these events.

However, with the initial reaction to the ban leading to teams ordering cases of pride tape, and many notable players coming out with criticism of the policy and distinct support for the LGBTQ+ communities, it appears that this distinct backslide from the NHL has been halted. With the league correcting this mistake, perhaps a brighter future for the sport with a return to its progressive policies may return, where the league’s slogan ‘Hockey Is For Everyone’ is accurate. 

Image courtesy of Eakin Howard via Getty Images, ©2022. Some rights reserved.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.