Ivan Provorov refused to wear a rainbow jersey when the Philadelphia Flyers celebrated Pride Night.
Now both the New York Rangers and New York Islanders neglect the use of color.
“With that they say you’re not 100 percent welcome in their locker room,” journalist Steve Buckley wrote on The Athletic’s website.
The NHL has taken issue with its Pride Night demonstrations to bring attention to LGBTQ rights.
Ivan Provorov chose not to participate in the warm-up when the Philadelphia Flyers wore jerseys with rainbow numbers.
The Russian announced that he is against what he and his religion stand for.
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders have since dropped out of the jerseys.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s saying that you should respect the decisions of individuals has attracted more criticism.
There is no clear explanation
“By not wearing these jerseys during warm-ups, the New York Rangers are saying in many ways that you are not 100 percent welcome in their locker room if you are a gay hockey player. Or, to get closer to the truth, they don’t want you 100 percent. of players,” wrote Steve Buckley of The Athletic.
The New York Rangers couldn’t come up with a clear explanation for why the players didn’t come out in rainbow colors against the Vegas Golden Knights at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
“Our organization respects the hptq+ community and we are proud to recognize important local community organizations as part of another great Pride Night. In accordance with the core values of our organization, we support the individual right of each individual to respectfully express their beliefs,” the club wrote in an ambiguous position.
