With less than 20 hours until the new NHL season begins, excitement should fill the air. The thrill of the overtime finishes, seeing new faces like Connor Bedard make his grand entrance, and the big saves should be the only thing on our minds. We are about to see the return of the greatest sport in the world after all. However, the NHL had a different plan, as they decided to show its true, and frankly disgraceful, colours to the world. It turns out those colours are white and black, without empathy or love for others.
In a twist as disappointing as it is unsurprising, the controversy surrounding last year’s pride events, where some players refused to wear the special warm-up jersey’s, has resulted in a ban on pride events for the upcoming season. A ban that includes everything. Not just the jersey, but also the tape, in the biggest “Don’t Say Gay” bill in American sports to date. A move that shows just how little meaning the NHL ever put into their slogan “Hockey is for everyone“. A slogan that, at this point, is nothing but a PR stunt based on a lie. Turns out what the slogan should be was: Hockey is not for everyone.
Is the LGBTQ+ community wanted
As someone who, like the writer of this article, is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, today’s announcement comes as a massive blow to the trust in the sport. Considering all it took was a minuscule percentage of players refusing to wear the special jersey was all it took to ban pride events raises some painful questions. Did the sport ever care about its LGBTQ+ members? Or more worryingly, have they ever wanted us in the NHL?
We have always been told hockey is for everyone, and that it wants to be a global sport with great representation. However, words without action are empty, and in the NHL’s case, its words with counteractions. Everything they said they wanted to achieve in order to support the minority fans of the LGBTQ+ has now been reduced to ashes due to the cowardice of the NHL.
What this choice symbolizes is a sad and bleak insight into the world of hockey. A world that was never for everyone, and where the old boys club reign supreme. Especially the closer you get to those in power. The community was never more important than the boys club, and this is another reminder of that. A sad reality, but their actions show how stuck they are in the reality that hockey should only be played and seen by straight men. It’s a “true man’s” game after all, and we don’t need others to tarnish its reputation. Just look at the horrendous treatment of women’s hockey received by the IIHF over the years, with fishbowl cameras and no Women’s World Junior Championships. Now, the ban on pride nights and the actions hint at a clear answer. Hockey is for straight men only.
Why Do Pride events matter
So why do so many people care? Why should the NHL care about these events? Why even host them in the first place, since the main thing we want to talk about is hockey? To answer those questions, a simple word can be used. Inclusion. Something that shows the fans who are a part of the LGBTQ+ that they aren’t alone. To show that the teams that they love accept them for who they are. A gesture that might seem small and almost pointless to some, but for others, it can mean the world. Especially to those who won’t meet acceptance otherwise.
Clarity on choice
The purpose of these events was never to show that the players were coming out or being part of the LGBTQ+. A fact that some players unfortunately hinted at being a reason they refused to wear the jersey last season. Nobody wants a player to be something they aren’t. They should be themselves, just like members of the LGBTQ+ community have a right to be themselves.
All wearing a rainbow jersey or tape really shows is that they support those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. It shows them the right to be themselves. Nothing more and nothing less. That support is what the NHL banned tonight. The right to show appreciation to a group of fans, who unfortunately in some instances won’t receive it in their daily lives. A gesture the NHL has spat on and ruined for many hockey fans, who rightfully should feel betrayed by the league as the NHL’s official stance now is that the LGBTQ+ fans are not accepted or respected by the sport for being gay, bi, trans or any part of the LGBTQ+. A truly despicable and evil stance that will tarnish all the goodwill the NHL had gained prior to last year.
Freedom of choice is important
The last thing to say in this matter is that those who originally, and in the future, might decide not to partake in those pride events have every right to do so. No one should be forced into wearing a jersey if they generally don’t believe in the cause. While it would be extremely disappointing to see a star and role model refuse to do that small gesture for people in the LGBTQ+ community, it would be their right as a human to do so. Just like it would be the fan’s right to react in disappointment if they feel neglected by those actions. Freedom of choice and speech is a basic human right to value.
However, the issue then becomes that this choice has been stripped away by this rule. What essentially has happened is that a small handful of players stopped everyone else from their right to choice. The ban stripped away any rights from players who wanted to wear the tape or jersey. It removed their right of choice in order to appease the boys club.
The price for this? More than 20 years of work for inclusivity in the sport, of a community that clearly never was held in high regard for anything else but PR by the NHL. Hockey was never going to be for everyone but the old boys club. We were just led to believe that it was for everyone by shining slogans and white lies. White lies created by the NHL, who revealed their truly disgusting face. With just 20 hours before the start of a new season, no less.
Main Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
