The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players can and cannot do as part of theme celebrations this season, including a ban on the use of rainbow-coloured stick tape for the Pride nights that have become a hot-button issue in hockey.
The updated guidance reaffirms on-ice player uniforms and gear for games, warm-ups and official team practices cannot be altered to reflect theme nights, including Pride, Hockey Fights Cancer or military appreciation celebrations. Players can voluntarily participate in themed celebrations off the ice.
Deputy NHL Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday, a few hours before the season opened with a , that the league sent the updated memo, which was first reported by ESPN.
The , an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ participation in sports and has partnered with the NHL for the past decade, ripped the league by saying, 鈥淚f Hockey is for Everyone, this is not the way forward.鈥
鈥淚t is now clear that the NHL is stepping back from its long-standing commitment to inclusion, and continuing to unravel all of its one-time industry-leading work on 2SLGBTQ+ belonging,鈥 the YCP Project said in a statement. 鈥淲e are now at a point where all the progress made, and relationships established with our community, is in jeopardy. Making decisions to eradicate our visibility in hockey 鈥 by eliminating symbols like jerseys and now Pride Tape 鈥 immediately stunts the impact of bringing in more diverse fans and players into the sport.鈥
The NHL decided in June for warm-ups after a handful of players opted out of those situations during Pride night last season. The league has said players opting out of Pride nights served as a distraction to the work its teams were doing in the community.
鈥淵ou know what our goals, our values and our intentions are across the league, whether it鈥檚 at the league level or at the club level,鈥 during All-Star Weekend festivities. 鈥淏ut we also have to respect some individual choice, and some people are more comfortable embracing themselves in causes than others. And part of being diverse and welcoming is understanding those differences.鈥
Philadelphia's Ivan Provorov was the first player in warm-ups when the Flyers wore rainbow-coloured jerseys before their Pride night game in January, citing his Russian Orthodox religion. Six other players followed for a variety of reasons 鈥 fellow Russians , and and Canadians and 鈥 and individual teams including the New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild and decided not to have any players wear Pride jerseys in warm-up.
鈥淭he Pride Tape team is extremely disappointed by the NHL鈥檚 decision,鈥 the makers of Pride Tape said in a statement. 鈥淒espite this setback, we are encouraged for what lies ahead based on our recent conversations from every corner of the sport.鈥
Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly told reporters in Toronto he wished players had the right to do more and be more involved.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to continue to be involved in the community and offer support to those communities and those groups that want that (and) need that,鈥 Rielly said.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and defenceman Josh Morrissey both said they haven't had the chance to review the changes from the league yet.
"I do know that this organization takes great care in wanting to be inclusive and the theme nights," Cheveldayoff told reporters in Winnipeg. "What the specifics of the memos are, I really can鈥檛 speak to. I don鈥檛 really have that yet.
"I鈥檒l have to obviously get briefed on that a little bit more. But I do know that the commitment from an organization standpoint is we鈥檒l do everything we possibly can."
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been something that I鈥檝e tried to embrace, the different theme nights and, obviously, the inclusivity around the game of hockey," Morrissey said. "Try and have everyone feel comfortable to either play or watch or be a part of what I think is the greatest game on earth 鈥 So that won鈥檛 change, I guess, as a goal personally to try to grow the game, regardless of what the memo says.鈥
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With files from Judy Owen in Winnipeg
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