The Edmonton Oilers will still have a Pride Night next season and host a Pride Cup ball hockey championship in August, even though the NHL has decided to do away with themed warm-up jerseys.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called the jerseys – and several players choosing not to wear rainbow-coloured uniforms – a “distraction,” in an interview in New York on Thursday.
But Bettman said teams will still celebrate Pride and other theme nights, including military appreciation and Hockey Fights Cancer.
They’re also expected to design and produce jerseys to be autographed and sold to raise money, even though players won’t skate around while wearing them during warmups.
Last season, seven players including Ivan Provorov, James Reimer and the Staal brothers, decided not to take part in pregame warmups when their teams donned Pride jerseys, citing various reasons.
On Friday, when CTV News Edmonton asked a spokesperson for Oilers Entertainment Group for reaction to the decision, he replied with the contact information for an NHL official.
After a follow-up question, Kevin Rapanos confirmed that the team will continue with Pride events.
On March 25, the Oilers celebrated Pride at Rogers Place during a game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The team did not wear Pride jerseys, instead taping their sticks with rainbow tape in warmup. The sticks were then auctioned in support of MacEwan University’s Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity, which also received 50/50 money.
Dr. Kristopher Wells, Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual & Gender Minority Youth at MacEwan, believes the NHL’s decision is the wrong one.
“It’s not a great sign of allyship. In fact, I think it gives the NHL a black eye,” he told CTV News Edmonton.
“Pride will move forward with or without the [NHL] board of governors and I think we’re looking more towards players and teams now taking the individual leadership that the league doesn’t seem to want to participate in.”
A co-founder of Pride Tape said he’s happy the Oilers are keeping their Pride events going.
“We’re incredibly optimistic that the Pride nights coming up, just with the conversations we had in the last 24 hours, are going to be even greater than they have been. Each and every year it gets better and better,” Jeff McLean said.
One of the leaders of a group founded to promote safety and inclusion for LGBTQ+ players, coaches and fans, the You Can Play Project, said the NHL’s decision only strengthens their resolve.
“It’s going to be seen by many as a win for those fighting against Pride nights. That’s simply not the case,” Kurt Weaver said.
“We are going to redouble our efforts with the league and the teams and make sure we continue the growth of the movement and make sure people understand that hockey is for everyone.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa and The Associated Press