By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Rangers said they support individuals’ rights to express their beliefs after players did not wear Pride Night warm-up jerseys ahead of Friday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Players were widely expected to take the ice to warm up wearing jerseys and using Pride-themed tape that honored the LGBTQ+ community as part of the NHL team’s seventh annual Pride Night.
Images from last year’s Pride Night showed players wearing jerseys with rainbow accents and wielding hockey sticks wrapped in rainbow-color tape.
But one player told the New York Post on Friday that he saw only his standard jersey hanging in his locker when he went to get ready and did not know why the alternate top was not available.
“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,” Rangers said in a statement.
“In keeping with our organization’s core values, we support everyone’s individual right to respectfully express their beliefs.”
A pre-game advertisement showed Rangers made other gestures in support of Pride Night, including a charitable donation to a group that supports homeless LGBTQ+ youth, and Madison Square Garden was illuminated in rainbow lights during the game.
It marks the second time this month that a Pride Night has seemingly not gone to plan in the National Hockey League, after Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov boycotted his team’s Pride Night festivities.
Asked for comment on Saturday, the NHL referred Reuters to a previous statement made in regard to Provorov.
“Clubs decide whom to celebrate, when and how – with league counsel and support. Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues,” it said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
