Ivan Provorov, the 26-year-old Russian NHLer who toils for the Philadelphia Flyers, skated into a firestorm of controversy when he refused to take the ice for warm-ups Tuesday night, due to the Flyers’ Pride Night celebration..That included an edict from management that the players wear special sexual minority-themed jerseys during the warm-up..Provorov refused to wear the jersey and stayed in the locker room, while the other players donned the jersey for the warm-up..When the game started Provorov left the locker room and played the entire game..After Philadelphia’s 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, Provorov explained his decision not to wear the Pride jersey..“I respect everybody, and I respect everybody’s choices,” said Provorov. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.” He is a member of the Russian Orthodox church..The woke mainstream media, which embraces tolerance and inclusion, showed its real side and lost its collective mind..ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski expressed his anger by pointing out that Provorov had worn military appreciation jerseys in the past, which he believes is a bad thing. He also labeled anyone not up in arms about Provorov choosing not to wear a jersey as homophobic..Sid Seixeiro, a cohost of Breakfast Television on the Citytv network, said the Flyers should be fined $1 million for Provorov’s decision and then went on to attack all religious people..“Nothing scares me more than any human being who says, ‘I’m not doing this because of my religious beliefs’ because when you look at people’s lives who normally say that publicly you’d throw up at what you saw,” Seixeiro said, while trying to work up tears for the cameras..Not to be outdone, NHL Network’s E.J. Hradek went on a rant, suggesting Provorov “get on a plane,” return to his home country of Russia, and “get involved” in the war with Ukraine..But it’s obvious Provorov has supporters. Lots of them. Including the coach and the Flyer’s organization..Head coach John Tortorella said he doesn’t believe Provorov's decision to skip warmups to avoid wearing the Pride jersey will have a negative impact on the team's dressing room..In fact, Tortorella knew in advance of Provorov’s stance, reports TSN..The player approached him about not wearing the jersey a few days before Tuesday's game. While those conversations remained contained to a few members of the organization, the team spoke on Provorov's decision as a group after Tuesday's win. ."Not for a second," Tortorella said of having any concerns Provorov's choice would affect the locker room. "The meeting, the 15 to 20 minutes we spent together, was really healthy. A really good process in a very important situation.”.Provorov’s fans showed their support as well, reaching into their wallets..His Flyers’ jersey became the most popular one on the online stores of both the NHL Shop and Fanatics, officially selling out at US$175 (CAD$235) each..Both websites are advertising their Provorov jerseys as ‘almost gone’ as the only men’s jerseys left are size extra-small.
