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Rangers’ Pride Night goes sideways and Chicago Blackhawks refuse to wear pride jerseys

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Slegr

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24 minutes ago, Slegr said:

It's sad to see how the NHL makes claims about supporting LGBTQ+ on one hand, and then lets players and teams poke holes through the support with the other hand.

 

Rangers’ Pride Night about-face created same mess it tried to avoid

By Mollie Walker

January 28, 2023

 

By veering from their promoted plan to wear Pride-themed jerseys for their annual Pride Night on Friday at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers turned what was otherwise a beautiful celebration of inclusivity into a story about the organization. 

 

It’s ironic that the reversed decision to forgo the special warm-ups and tape was presumably made to avoid a public relations mess. Instead, that’s exactly what has happened. After making a public promise that the team would don the rainbow colors of the Pride flag “in solidarity” with the LGBTQ+ community, and then walking back on it, what did the organization think would happen? There were fans who purchased their tickets to see themselves represented on the ice, and they were left disappointed. 

 

The Garden and the Rangers have been hosting Pride Night for seven years. In the past, the whole team has sported the Pride-themed warmup jerseys and wrapped their sticks in rainbow tape, which is why it was so peculiar that the Rangers chose not to go through with it this time.

 

There is no question that the backlash the Flyers received over their Pride Night on Jan. 17, when defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to take warmups in the team’s custom jersey while citing his Russian Orthodox religion as the reason, influenced how the Rangers’ handled the event. Since then, NHL fans have been hyperaware of how their teams have chosen to go about it. The Rangers should’ve seen this coming from a mile away. 

 

Still, the Rangers made a choice, and that choice slighted members of the LGBTQ+ community. Following suit with many other NHL teams that have made harmful decisions in recent years, the Rangers made zero acknowledgement and took zero accountability for their actions. 

 

“Our organization respects the LGBTQ+ community and we are proud to bring attention to important local community organizations as part of another great Pride Night,” the Rangers said in a statement. “In keeping with our organization’s core values, we support everyone’s individual right to respectfully express their beliefs.” 

 

Two players separately told Post colleague Larry Brooks and me that there were no team discussions about sporting the pride-themed jerseys and tape. They did not know why they didn’t wear them. Brooks also reached out to the NHL’s deputy commissioner and chief legal officer, Bill Daly, to see if teams had been advised not to proceed with their original Pride Night plans in the aftermath of Provorov’s refusal. Daly said no and that each club is entitled to proceed as it sees fit. 

 

So if it wasn’t the players and it wasn’t the league, then it appears the decision must have come from higher up in the Rangers’ organization. 

 

Broadway star Michael James Scott, who is gay, sang a goosebump-inciting rendition of the national anthem. Andre Thomas, the co-chair of NYC Pride and Heritage of Pride, participated in the ceremonial puck drop. Fans received a Pride-themed fanny pack, while the pinwheel ceiling and panels on the outside of the Garden were illuminated in the rainbow colors. 

 

The Rangers have also promised to make a charitable contribution to the Ali Forney Center, a New York-based agency dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ homeless youths. The center assists more than 2,000 youths per year through a 24-hour Drop-In Center, which provides more than 70,000 meals annually, medical, and mental health services through an on-site clinic, and a scattered-site housing program. 

 

Much was done right, but the Rangers completely overshadowed that by not following through on the part that spoke the most volume. To see your favorite players wear something that represents who you are means something to LGBTQ+ fans. The fact the players did not wear the warmup jerseys also prevented the Rangers from auctioning them off and donating the proceeds to LGBTQ+ causes. 

 

More to the point, the Rangers allowed themselves to misstep out of fear of a repeat of the Provorov situation, and instead called into question the sincerity of all their actions. New York City is one of the most diverse places in the world, which should not be forgotten. 

 

The Rangers wore warmup jerseys designed by New York-based Ecuadorian artist Mar Figueroa for Hispanic Heritage Night on Oct. 20. They wore camouflage military-themed warmups on Nov. 13 for Military Appreciation Night. 

 

Feb. 8 will be Black Heritage Night. They’ll probably wear a special warmup for that, too. It’s a shame that Pride Night was treated differently.

 

https://nypost.com/2023/01/28/rangers-made-an-absolute-mess-with-pride-night-about-face/

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/rangers-walk-back-wearing-lgbtq-themed-warmup-jerseys-pride-night

https://www.outkick.com/new-york-rangers-pride-night-lgbtq-jersey-stick-tape-statement-reaction/

 

Frankly a sad state of affairs when the night is done with all the bells and whistles, class if you will and yet people have to find something to pick apart. I can assure you empowering people through that evening and putting money behind initiatives and programs for inclusiveness and celebrating the evening as was done is far more then a positive that does not need to be lessened by the very people and advocates it is allies with because jerseys were not worn. 

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22 minutes ago, Alflives said:

The league clearly should have suspended Provorov for his anti gay actions.  Now it’s spread.  Other players are seemingly refusing to support gay people.  

The team would have been the more appropriate body to suspend. It's called a uniform for a reason.

 

 

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9 minutes ago, Shayster007 said:

This is so strange, am I reading this correctly? They planned a pride night, gave everyone fanny packs, invited VIPs, then bailed at the last minute?

I think the team went through with the pride night (they’ve done it the two previous years apparently) but pulled the pregame pride jersey just before the guys were supposed to wear them.  Reading between the lines, I’d say there were several Ranger players who refused t wear the jersey, and used the Provorov excuse: “it’s against my religious beliefs”.  It would have looked bad seeing several players missing the warmup skate.  

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1 hour ago, Alflives said:

I think the team went through with the pride night (they’ve done it the two previous years apparently) but pulled the pregame pride jersey just before the guys were supposed to wear them.  Reading between the lines, I’d say there were several Ranger players who refused t wear the jersey, and used the Provorov excuse: “it’s against my religious beliefs”.  It would have looked bad seeing several players missing the warmup skate.  

I agree.  I think that is what happened.  It seems everything else went according to plan and they did have the Pride Night, the only thing that they didn't go through with is the wearing of the jerseys and the sticks.

 

New York is a pretty liberal state, so I would think that this is going to happen in other cities as well...

 

Looking at the Rangers lineup, their two star players are Russians...

 

After some research on the Internet, it seems that both Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin are both Russian Orthodox and Christian.  Shesterkin has even been shown after the game is over to do the sign of the cross.  Not saying that they refused to wear the jerseys, there is no proof, but it's something to consider given the Rangers about face at the last minute...

Edited by Elias Pettersson
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1 hour ago, Alflives said:

I think the team went through with the pride night (they’ve done it the two previous years apparently) but pulled the pregame pride jersey just before the guys were supposed to wear them.  Reading between the lines, I’d say there were several Ranger players who refused t wear the jersey, and used the Provorov excuse: “it’s against my religious beliefs”.  It would have looked bad seeing several players missing the warmup skate.  

Reading between the lines, this overwhelmingly points towards James Dolan.  He's gone loco again but it's pretty telling how teams are folding from the tiniest bit of pressure.  From a city like NYC that has a long, storied history of gay liberation, this is pretty disappointing... but not surprising.  I think gay hockey fans are more aware than any of us that the sport has done little to nothing to try and fix the issues.

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It’ll be interesting to see what the Canucks do. 
The Canucks will celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community on March 31, 2023 against the Calgary Flames during their annual pride game.

It looks like last year they wore the special jersey during the pregame skate:

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canucks-fans-confused-price-tag-pride-jerseys

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1 hour ago, Bob.Loblaw said:

Then it's starting to become concerning in many ways.  First problem is that these jerseys were meant to be auctioned for charity. 

 

Secondly, it seems Provorov's actions have actually pressured NHL teams into removing features from their pride nights.  Intolerance is actually winning.  There are photos of Panarin and Shesterkin donning pride jerseys from previous seasons.  It seems like the organization thought pulling the plug last-minute was the least damaging option (spoiler: it probably wasn't).

 

As expected, hockey culture prevails.  Inclusivity and pride are simply not the hills that the league (or at least certain teams) is willing to die on.  I dare the Rangers organization to pull this stunt on the NYPD when they have some sort of appreciation night.

Yeah, I did more digging, and here is Shesterkin wearing a pride jersey 2 years ago.  So not sure what to think now.  Unless, maybe he didn't want to rock the boat 2 years ago and now with Provorov refusing to wear it he decided not to as well.  Who knows...

 

rangers-gay-pride-warmup.webp

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20 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Yeah, I did more digging, and here is Shesterkin wearing a pride jersey 2 years ago.  So not sure what to think now.  Unless, maybe he didn't want to rock the boat 2 years ago and now with Provorov refusing to wear it he decided not to as well.  Who knows...

 

 

rangers-pride-2021.jpg?quality=75&strip=all

 

Here is a matching photo of the breadman from the same warmup.  If by some small chance this wasn't Dolan and it was the two players inspired by Provorov to stand up against pride, then this is also a bad omen.  But it really doesn't matter who started this.  Religious freedom is clearly coming at the cost of inclusivity, and half of America is more than happy to eat that up.  That country is in the middle of a massive culture war, so expect to see more of this nonsense.

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17 minutes ago, ABNuck said:

I may be way out in right field here, but I'm trying to understand the hate that people are having towards Provorov…. Heck, even the KKK has right to assemble and speak their thoughts (as long as it isn't hateful)

It is the correct course of action to support people who are suffering discrimination for no other reason than their sexuality, over which they have no choice or control.

KKK is a hate group. It should not have a right to speak their thoughts.

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@ABNuck I was going to try and offer a measured explanation on why this is quickly becoming a serious issue.

 

But I'm not going to waste my time on someone who thinks anyone supporting the KKK should have a voice and see the light of day.  Your idea of free speech is to murder people in the name of white supremacy.  They belong in jail, along with anyone dumb enough to even support their right to do believe such garbage.

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7 hours ago, Alflives said:

The league clearly should have suspended Provorov for his anti gay actions.  Now it’s spread.  Other players are seemingly refusing to support gay people.  

Based on what?  That would set a terrible precedent, especially if the league were to buy into some anti-conservative agenda and their very livelihood/ income/ freedom to play were to be suspended for something external to the game.  That would be infringing on human rights itself, so put yourself in their shoes and see if you would like that kind of limitation on your freedom to support something or not.

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