Last week, James Reimer, a goalie for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, citing his religious beliefs, opted out of wearing a Pride-themed warm-up jersey, the second player this year who declined wearing such a jersey in warm-up..In January, the Philadelphia Flyers' Ivan Provorov, refused to wear the jersey based on his Christian beliefs..In a statement posted to Twitter, Reimer said, "For all 13 years of my NHL career, I have been a Christian, not just in title, but in how I choose to live my life daily. I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and follow him."."I have no hate in my heart for anyone, and I have always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect and kindness." ."In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life." .The Sharks issued their own statement on the situation.."As we promote these standards, we also acknowledge and accept the rights of individuals to express themselves, including how or whether they choose to express their beliefs, regardless of the cause or topic. As an organization, we will not waver in our support of the LGBTQIA+ community and continue to encourage others to engage in active allyship.".Blaze News reports, “Behind the scenes, multiple teams decided ditching the controversial theme altogether was a smarter move, either because of player refusal or to avoid a public relations black eye.”.It’s not a matter of NHL teams, or the league as whole being anti- LGBTQIA+, but being respectful of individual rights and beliefs, according to Blaze News..The Minnesota Wild scrapped its plans for players to wear rainbow-themed warm-up jerseys during Pride celebrations..The Pride Night celebrations were still held by the Wild, which issued this statement: “The Minnesota Wild organization is proud to continue our support for the LGBTQIA+ community by hosting our second annual pride night, which we are celebrating in many ways. It is important to host nights like this to show all players, fans, and the LGBTQIA+ community that hockey is for everyone.".Last month, the New York Islanders’ players did not wear Pride jerseys in warm-up, something that has been team policy for some time. Team captain Anders Lee spoke publicly for the Islanders, saying, “For us here in this room, we take care of what we can here and obviously are very supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and do what we can to include them in our game,” Lee told the New York Post..“Doing our best to support them, not just at the rink or showing up at hockey games, but in the community, being just a respectful human." .At Madison Square Gardens, home to the New York Rangers, there was a Pride Night in late January that included the pride and transgender flags being displayed prominently with the American flag, but no Pride jerseys in warm-up, leading to a reporter from the Athletic saying the Rangers were catering to "what was likely a small minority," reports Blaze News..Other sports publications had articles saying the Pride Nights are important, going so far as to ridicule players who don’t agree with them and at the same time finding it difficult to find players who think compliance should be mandatory..“The Pittsburgh Penguins' Jason Zucker says he is "fully supportive" of the themed nights, but also that he has to be "respectful of other players’ opinions," reports Blaze News, adding “prospect Luke Prokop, who has yet to play in the league at age 20, but is under contract, garnered media attention for his stance that accused teams of not "embracing" the "significance" of the jerseys..Prokop said Pride nights are essential and he believes diversity and inclusion should be prioritized.
