NHL takes gutless approach to Pride Night celebrations as excuses keep coming

There's a remarkable story you may not know that illustrates perfectly how bigotry works. How it can be cloaked and rationalized. How people use religion to justify it. We're seeing this phenomenon repeatedly when it comes to NHL players and teams declining to participate in Pride Night celebrations.

One case, in particular, would be borderline hysterical if it wasn't so problematic. The Florida Panthers had their Pride Night in late March. Center Eric Staal and defenseman Marc Staal declined to participate in the team's warmup after refusing to wear the team's Pride jerseys.

The brothers put out a statement that night explaining their reason for not wearing the jerseys, saying it went against their Christian beliefs.

"After many thoughts, prayers and discussions we have chosen not to wear a pride jersey..." they said. "We carry no judgement on how people choose to live their lives, and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey. Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a pride jersey it goes against our Christian beliefs."

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First: That actually sounds fairly judge-ish. Like, judge-y as hell. Like, they don't judge this much on American Idol.

Second: Christianity has often been used to justify some pretty awful stuff such as, well, maybe you've heard of slavery. A passage in the Bible, Romans 13, was a prominent factor in holding together the Third Reich, according to one historian. Mobs of Southern whites who lynched Black people considered themselves Christian. In other words, religion has been used by human beings to justify hatred against other human beings for thousands of years.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, and incredibly: Eric Staal said he'd never worn a Pride jersey before. It took Internet sleuths about 4.5 seconds of Googling before finding photographic evidence his statement was false.

Not every team and player have reacted to their team's Pride Night the way the Staal brothers and others have. The Nashville Predators, for example, all wore their Pride jerseys on April 4. The team has the only openly gay player under NHL contract, Luke Prokop, in their system, according to the Tennessean.

"It's a really awesome initiative," said Nashville defenseman Tyson Barrie. "It's something that's really close to my heart. I've got family members and best friends in the (LGBTQ) community. There's a little frustration on my end with what's transpired this year with everything.

"I know how hard it can be for people to come out and live their authentic lives. I hope none of the stuff that's gone on has pushed anybody back, and the young kids who are thinking about it. Just really excited everybody on our team is going to participate."

That is the response you'd want everyone in the NHL to have. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.

One of the more fascinating – and sad – parts of this NHL season has been seeing some of the league's players resist what is meant as a moment, just one moment, of showing people in the LGBTQ community that they're not alone. That some of the most powerful athletes in American sports have their backs.

Instead, we've seen too many NHL players reject this simple gesture of care and decency.

The Minnesota Wild also declined to wear Pride-themed jerseys. San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer refused to wear a Pride Night sweater during warmups. He also cited his Christian beliefs.

"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 daily. I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ, who died on a cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and to 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," Reimer said in a statement released by the Sharks.

So this is what it means to "love everyone?"

Some of the most high-profile teams in the league, the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, declined to wear Pride jerseys. The Rangers scrapped plans without publicly stating a reason and then released a statement saying, in part, "We support everyone's individual right to respectfully express their beliefs."

The Blackhawks cited safety concerns over anti-LGBTQ legislation in Russia. Other Russian-born players have done the same. Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov was the first to decline to participate in Pride day, citing his Russian Orthodox beliefs.

Meanwhile, both of the Predators' Russian players — Trenin and Egor Afanasyev — wore Pride jerseys.

Sociologists and other experts say the threat to Russian players is real.

“Sports fans needs to realize this is probably not an idle threat,” University of Minnesota sociology professor Doug Hartmann told The Athletic. “Your first reaction is, ‘Oh come on, they’re trying to get out of this.’ But when you start thinking it through, knowing what the Russian state has done in the context of treatment of Brittney Griner, I’d be scared if I were a Russian.

“I think it’s exactly what we don’t know that makes this so threatening. It’s kind of the modus operandi of authoritarian states. Not that they’re going to act all the time. But the threat of that is to create distrust and uncertainty among your own citizens. And in an international context, that allows you to wield power in this way.”

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That, however, doesn't excuse the non-Russian players, and there have also been Russian players who have taken part in Pride festivities.

One of the main issues is the cowardly stance of the NHL. It has essentially left the decision up to individual teams. Many franchises, in all sports, will take the path of least resistance. By taking this soft approach, the league office has given teams an out.

"Clubs decide whom to celebrate, when and how – with league counsel and support," the NHL said in a statement. "Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues."

Too many players have taken that easy road to gutlessness.

Thankfully, Nashville didn't.

"We believe we're an inclusive organization," coach John Hynes said. "I truly believe hockey is a safe place for everybody. It's something all our players are on board with and want to represent, everyone involved from the organization, people outside the organization. We had a discussion with the players, just (to see) if there were any issues. Guys were all on board with it."

As they should be.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL takes cowardly approach to Pride Night LGBTQ celebrations