NHL commissioner Gary Bettman suggested the league will push the pause button on Pride-themed jersey nights, after some players refused to wear the jerseys and several teams cancelled wearing the jerseys in pre-game warm-ups..The player protests began with in January, when the Philadelphia Flyers' Ivan Provorov, refused to wear the jersey based on his Christian beliefs..James Reimer, a goalie with the San Jose Sharks, and the Florida Panthers’ Eric and Marc Staal, also declined to wear the jerseys based on religious beliefs..Most recently, Buffalo Sabres’ defenceman Ilya Lyubishkin said he would not wear the jersey out of fear of reprisals in Russia..A Russian law outlaws gay propaganda, which raised concerns with Russia-born players they, and their families living in the country, could be subject to reprisals..Teams that planned, then cancelled Pride-themed jersey nights, include the Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks..Bettman defended the players’ decisions to not wear the jerseys and the teams’ rights to cancel the jerseys in pre-game warm-ups, adding it's something the league will address in the off season.."This is one issue where players for a variety of reasons may not feel comfortable wearing the uniform as a form of endorsement," Bettman told CTV. ."This is the first time we've experienced that, and I think it's something that we're going to have to evaluate in the off season." ."But I think that's become more of a distraction now because the substance of what our teams and we have been doing and stand for is really being pushed to the side for what is a handful of players basically have made personal decisions, and you have to respect that as well."
