On Tuesday, January 17, 2023, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Anaheim Ducks celebrated Pride Night in Philadelphia.[1]The teams, on a night designed to be about celebration and inclusion, wore Pride-themed warmup jerseys prior to puck drop. However, a night that was supposed to be a celebration, quickly turned to criticism and outrage when 26-year old defenseman Ivan Provorov declined to participate in the Pride celebration by not skating in the Pride-themed jersey during warmups.[2]
Provorov, who practices Russian Orthodox religion, cited his religious beliefs as the basis for his decision to not participate in warmups. Following the game, Provorov said he respected everybody’s choices and that his choice was to “stay true to [him]self and [his] religion.” Provorov then refused to answer any follow-up questions. First-year Flyers Coach John Tortorella said he has had “healthy conversations” with Provorov and that his decision was not a shock to the organization. In addition, Tortorella stated he never considered benching Provorov. He said, “Why would I bench him? Because of a decision he’s making on his beliefs and his religion? It turned out to be a great night for Pride night.”
The Flyers, led by James Van Riemsdyk and Scott Laughton, have been heavy supporters of the LGBTQ+ community in the Philadelphia area. When asked about the situation, Van Riemsdyk said, “I think ultimately I’d like to look at the positives of the night. We were able to host a few different groups and meet with them after the game. I think that’s where I’d like to keep the focus on, about the good things that happened. Ultimately, when you play a team sport, and there’s lots of different people from different backgrounds, there’s different causes that people support.” Further, Laughton said, “I don’t hold anything against anyone. It’s nothing like that. It was an awesome night, and I’m very happy we got a win on a night like this.”
Provorov’s decision was not met with the same acceptance by a large sum of media members. Some have said that his decision has negatively impacted Pride night.[3] In addition, NHL Network reporter E.J. Hradek said, “Ivan Provorov can get on a plane any day he wants and go back to a place where he feels more comfortable, take less money and get on with his life that way if it’s that problematic for him … If this is that much of a problem for him, to maybe assimilate into his group of teammates, and in the community and here in this country, that’s OK. Listen, you can feel any way you want. But the beauty is, if it bothers you that much, there’s always a chance to leave, go back to where you feel more comfortable — I understand there’s a conflict of sorts going on over there, maybe get involved.”[4] Provorov has also been labeled “homophobic” for his decision, even though he stated he respects everybody’s choices.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman defended the team’s and the League’s handling of the Provorov situation. Bettman said tolerance of varying viewpoints was part of being “open, welcoming, and inclusive.”[5] He said, “You know what our goals, our values and our intentions are across the league, whether it’s at the league level or at the club level. But we also have to respect some individual choice, and some people are more comfortable embracing themselves in causes than others. And part of being diverse and welcoming is understanding those differences.”
Any potential punishment levied on Provorov raises questions as to whether it would have infringed upon his rights. Individuals have freedom of religion and any attempt to compel Provorov to participate in the event, which according to him is in violation of his religious beliefs, could potentially have left the Flyers and the NHL open to an employment discrimination case.[6] It will be interesting to see if there is any follow-up regarding this situation from the NHL. Other teams have also decided to forgo wearing the Pride-themed warmup jerseys. The Rangers at one point stated they would wear the jerseys, however, they then decided to not wear the jerseys.[7] On February 9, the Islanders hosted Pride Night but they did not wera Pride-themed warmup jerseys. The Islanders responded to criticism by stating that the organization had never worn Pride-themed jerseys in past and did not want this act to take away from the celebration of Pride Night. While this issue has been divisive throughout the NHL, it appears the NHL will continue to celebration inclusion, as well as honoring individual choices and liberty.
[1] https://www.inquirer.com/sports/flyers-provorov-pride-night-lgbtq-nhl-20230117.html
[2] https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/35481679/flyers-john-tortorella-defends-ivan-provorov-pride-boycott
[3] https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/35474865/provorov-negatively-impacted-pride-night
[4] https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nhl-analyst-hradek-ivan-provorov-can-involved-russia-ukraine-war-refusing-gay-pride-jersey
[5] https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2023/02/04/gary-bettman-defends-nhl-handling-pride-night-situations/11188188002/
[6] https://nypost.com/2023/01/21/punishing-flyers-ivan-provorov-would-have-infringed-on-rights/
[7] https://nypost.com/2023/02/09/islanders-cite-policy-for-not-wearing-pride-night-warm-ups/
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