Some NHL stars 'disappointed' that league removed Pride jerseys, were 'proud wearing it'

Some of the National Hockey League's biggest stars have expressed their disappointment with the league's decision to cancel gay-pride-themed warm-up jerseys.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that the use of specialty warm-up jerseys had "become a distraction" and took away from the fact that all of the teams "in some form or another host nights in honor of various groups or causes."

As reported by TimCast, some of the NHL's top stars took issue with the announcement, which was primarily in response to backlash over gay pride jerseys.

Connor McDavid, the league's biggest star and 2022-2023 leader in goals, points, and assists, said, “It’s disappointing to see."

“It’s not my call, but obviously it’s disappointing," he added, according to CTV News. “I certainly can’t speak for every organization. ... I know in Edmonton, we were one of the first teams to use the Pride tape," the star boasted.

“We strongly feel hockey is for everybody, and that includes the Pride nights," the team captain reiterated.

Steven Stamkos, two-time Stanley Cup champion and star in the league since 2008, said that he thinks "guys should have the right to do what they want."

“It was 98 per cent or 99 per cent of other players that wore the jersey and enjoyed wearing it and were proud wearing it — whatever jersey it was — whether it was the Pride, the military night, the cancer nights," the Tampa Bay Lightning forward continued.

“The story shouldn’t be about the guy that didn’t wear it — the one guy or the two guys.”

At least seven players opted out of wearing the jerseys in the 2022-2023 season, including Canadians James Reimer, Eric Staal, and Marc Staal, along with Russians Andrei Kuzmenko, Ilya Lyubushkin, Ivan Provorov, and Ilya Samsonov.

The Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, and Minnesota Wild were the only organizations not to participate in the ritual that season.

“I understand that’s what gets the clicks and that’s what gets the views, but the word ‘distraction’ gets thrown around. I don’t think it had to have been a distraction,” Stamkos went on. “It could have been a non-issue while focusing on the good that was coming out of those nights and the money that was raised and the players that did wear the jerseys those nights.”

Swedish-born Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund said attention was taken away from the “right reasons," according to TimCast.

“All of us were wearing the jerseys … everyone was looking [at], ‘Who’s not and why not?'” he said. “I understand the decision the NHL made to take that distraction away. Teams can still have their nights — their special nights — and I think that’s a good thing.”

When Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov was the first player to decline a Pride jersey, McDavid commented that he and "everyone else in our room supports those types of initiatives."

Sports broadcaster Gary Sheffield Jr. said that "people aren't prideful these days. They just want other people to feel uncomfortable opposing their own feelings so they're not just the loudest in the room, they're the only voice."

"If they're that prideful ... attend a rally and I'll support that right," he added.

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