Rainbow jerseys: NHL teams abstain

UPGRADE DAY

Playing in the New York area, the Rangers and Islanders ditched the idea of ​​wearing rainbow-colored jerseys during their respective LGBTQ+ awareness night.  

As reported Wednesday by the New York Post, the two National Hockey League (NHL) organizations were scheduled to perform this week: Thursday for the Islanders, who will host the Vancouver Canucks, and Friday for the Blueshirts, who have an appointment with the Seattle Kraken. However, possibly scalded by the case of Philadelphia Flyers defender Ivan Provorov, they chose to leave these special bibs behind, without providing too much explanation. At the Islanders, there will be no rainbow jerseys and ribbons during the warm-up period.

Provorov refused to wear the uniform of the LGBTQ+ cause before the January 17 matchup against the Anaheim Ducks. The Russian justified everything by his religious beliefs and the story did not seem to bother his head coach, John Tortorella, saying the next day that she will weld the ranks of his team.

“ Provy did nothing wrong. If you disagree with him, that doesn't mean he's done anything wrong,” the pilot said in a press briefing.

A lot of reactions

Openly gay player agent Bayne Pettinger was unimpressed with Provorov and the Flyers. “We're taking steps forward with all of these initiatives and we're starting to show some good signs of improvement within the game, and then people are using their platform to attack this and say you're not welcome here,” he said in an interview on Sportsnet's Jeff Marek Show.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also commented on the controversy, mentioning that it should not cast a shadow over the initiatives of his organization.

“You know our objectives and our values, as well as our intentions, whether at the level of the league or teams. However, we must respect a few individual choices. And some are more willing than others to get involved in causes. Contributing to diversity and openness means understanding these differences,” he said.