Opinion: Is NHL hockey truly for everyone?

*This article reflects the opinion of the writer*

Hockey is for everyone, at least, the NHL claims it is. Despite using this phrase for countless initiatives, advertisements, and fundraisers, it is blatantly obvious that it is far from true. The latest culprits proving this are Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov and the New York Rangers. 

Philadelphia was hosting Pride Night against the Anaheim Ducks on January 17th. Players wore Pride-themed rainbow jerseys during warmups to support the LGBTQ+ community, and Provorov elected not to participate. When asked about this choice, he used his Russian Orthodox religion to excuse his actions. 

Ivan Provorov’s statement is simply not enough. Not only is he at fault, but the Flyers organization is as well. The team was well aware of his actions beforehand and did nothing about it. Provorov should not have been allowed to play in the contest. Head coach John Tortorella defended his player and claimed that “he did nothing wrong.” These actions are not only a slap in the face to the team and its fans, but to players as well. Forwards James van Riemsdyk and Scott Laughton have an organization solely dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ youth get involved with Philadelphia hockey. Ivan Provorov still chose to participate in making sure that hockey is not for everyone, knowing full well the damage that he was going to cause. 

Only ten days later, on January 27th, in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights, the New York Rangers completely abandoned their scheduled Pride Night. It was advertised to fans that players would wear unique Pride jerseys during warmups and, without warning or explanation, did not. There was no rainbow tape on the sticks of players, which was supposed to happen as well. The Rangers later made a statement saying that the organization supports the LGBTQ+ community and will continue to, but rightfully so, received tons of backlash. 

The New York Rangers’ statement is simply not enough. It is incredibly harmful to a team, especially one that is so popular and in such a huge market, to back out on doing something this simple. Wearing, or in this case, lack of wearing, rainbow jerseys may not seem like a big deal to the people that made the decision, but it affects more than just them.

Any person that identifies as LGBTQ+ and is a part of the Rangers community likely felt hurt and betrayed by this move. There has been no further comment on the matter, just business as usual and a lousy statement that blatantly contradicted the actions of the team. The amount of disrespect displayed by the New York Rangers organization once again proves that hockey is not for everyone.

Ivan Provorov and the New York Rangers deserve every ounce of criticism coming their way. They actively chose to discriminate against a group that has historically been excluded from the sport of hockey. Not only are these two at fault, but the NHL is. The league constantly praises “Hockey Is For Everyone” and yet, continues to show that it does not value the LGBTQ+ community at all.