There was controversy when the Flyers hosted a Pride Night promotion in Philadelphia on Friday night. The team’s pregame skate included rainbow-themed warmup jerseys and pasted tape, as is customary for such events in the NHL. The jerseys and batons were intended to be auctioned off for charitable purposes. Ivan Provorov, a defender, retired from pregame activities due to his Russian Orthodox religious beliefs. He later participated in 22 minutes of Philadelphia’s 5–2 victory over the Ducks.
Here’s a closer look at what the jerseys looked like:
Ice hockey is for everyone. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜#ANAvsPHI | #FueledByPhilly pic.twitter.com/oIyJ6dV1Ae
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 17, 2023
After the game, Provorov said: “I respect everyone. I respect everyone’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.”
Flyers head coach John Tortorella seemed to think so and stated, “With Provy, he is true to himself and his religion. This has to do with his faith and his religion. There’s one thing I respect about Provy: he’s always true to himself. That is what we are doing.”
The Flyers responded to the circumstance with a statement that was more of a non-statement because Provorov was not specifically named:
The organization of the Philadelphia flyers is committed to diversity and is excited to promote the LGBTQ+ community. As a result of many of our players’ active involvement in local LGBTQ+ groups, we were excited to once again host our annual Pride Night. The Flyers will continue to champion diversity and the LGBTQ+ community.
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“Message” uniforms are typically only allowed for NHL activities. Had the outfits been worn during the actual match, it’s unclear if Provorov would have been a healthy scratch.
An athlete has objected to the team wearing Pride apparel at least three times in the past seven months. Five Tampa Bay Rays players refused to wear the team’s pride uniform on the field in June last year, citing religious objections. Jaelene Daniels of the North Carolina Courage of the NWSL skipped a game the following month due to religious affiliation instead of donning the team’s Pride jersey. (Are there more recent examples I’m missing?)
In the case of the Rays, the group had explicitly made Pride uniforms optional. Since Provorov received no repercussions for skipping the pregame skate, last night’s Flyers attire was voluntary as well. The Rays’ predicament inspired my Premium essay on whether culturally motivated uniforms should always be optional. The essential part of that piece is on a paywall, so I’ll reproduce it here: After the game, [Rays pitcher Jason] Adam spoke on behalf of the group of non-rainbow clad players and claimed their choice was dictated by their religious beliefs:
“A lot comes down to faith, like a faith-based decision. So it’s a tough decision. Because in the end, we’ve all said we want them to know that everyone is welcome and loved here. But when we applied it to our bodies, I think a lot of guys decided it’s just a lifestyle that maybe – not that they look down on anyone or think differently – it’s just that maybe we don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus, who has encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from those behaviors, just as (Jesus) encourages me as a heterosexual man to refrain from sex outside the confines of marriage. That’s just the way it is.”
That explanation has sparked much debate, as you might expect. There are other places for that. Therefore, I am not interested in criticizing the Pride movement or the behavior of the Tampa Bay players who choose not to participate. Instead, I would discuss the team’s choice to make the components of the rainbow uniform optional.
What would happen if the same opt-out option were offered in different circumstances with special unified promotions? For example, the NBA has several Muslim athletes. Imagine if some of those Muslim players had refused to wear those clothes from 2012 to 2016, when NBA teams customarily donned Christmas-themed apparel on Dec. 25, declaring: “A lot of it comes down to faith, to like a faith-based decision. We want them to know that all Christians are welcome and loved here. But when we applied it to our bodies, we decided it’s not something we want to be a part of.”
It’s not hard to imagine additional scenarios where players choose not to wear a specific piece of uniform while explaining what the Rays players said, even if you keep religion out of the picture. Here are a few recent examples of message-based jerseys and some reasons a player may choose not to wear them:
- Camouflage: “I have some problems with US military policy. Service members and veterans are always welcome in my community and my life, but when it comes to putting it on my body, that’s not something I want to do.
- Stars/stripes: “I am a proud, patriotic Venezuelan. I love playing here in America and I love and support my American teammates and fans, but when it comes to wearing the American flag on my body, that’s not something I want to do.”
- BLM: “Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization. Black people are welcome and loved here, but when it comes to putting those initials on my body, that’s not something I want to do.”
- Hispanic jerseys: “This is America – we speak English here. Wearing Hispanic sweaters normalizes the trend of immigrants not integrating into our culture. Hard-working immigrants who come here legally and get to know our culture are welcome and loved here, but when it comes to wearing their language on my body, that’s not something I want to do.”
- Jim Kaat Number Exit Patch: “Jim Kaat made an insulting remark on air last fall and made another one this season. I respect what he’s accomplished as a baseball player, but if I’m honoring him on my body, I don’t want to.”
- Green for Earth Day: “Tree-hugging hippies created Earth Day, and now it’s the same people promoting the climate change hoax. Don’t get me wrong, I love the outdoors — in fact, I’m going hunting this weekend — but when it comes to repeating Earth Day on my body, that’s not something I want to do.
- Green Ribbons for Mental Health Awareness: “I was always taught that when you are feeling sad or facing challenges, you have to find the courage and fight it out. Instead, everyone is getting too soft these days. I have nothing against people with mental illness – I wish them well – but when it comes to imprinting “consciousness” on my body, that’s not something I want to do.
- New York City first-responder caps for 9/11 memorial: “The NYPD has a long track record of harassing minority communities and the FDNY has a well-documented history of racism. That’s not to say that every cop or firefighter is a bad person – most of them are good civil servants and I respect the brave work they do – but when it comes to wearing those department logos on my body, that’s not something I I want to do. .”
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And so on. While some of those possible situations may sound absurd, many people believe that the Rays’ non-rainbow players acted absurdly. When you make uniform reporting optional, this happens: You let in all kinds of counter-messages.
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