The Politics of the NHL’s Pride Tape Ban

In June 2023, the National Hockey League announced that players were no longer able to wear “specialty” jerseys after multiple players refused to wear Pride-themed jerseys and tape for Pride Night events. The ban on specialty jerseys extends to Pride Tape—hockey tape in the colors of the Progress Flag that players could wrap their sticks in. 

The creators of Pride Tape released a statement expressing how disheartening and in poor taste the NHL’s ban was. “The league has used language in recent days that would prohibit the tape from any proximity to NHL hockey. We hope the league—and teams—will again show commitment to this important symbol of combating homophobia” they say in a statement as reported by ESPN. 

Previously, many hockey teams held Pride Nights in which players donned Pride-themed jerseys and hockey sticks and fans were encouraged to dress in their best Pride outfits. In an extensive Twitter thread compiled by hockey fan lucifader, there is documented evidence of over twenty NHL teams holding some sort of Pride-related event from 2021 through 2023—including the Colorado Avalanche, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Los Angeles Kings. 

The issues started in January 2023 when then Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to wear his team’s Pride night jersey, stating that it would go against his Russian Orthodox religion to do so. After Provorov’s statement, other league players such as Illya Lyubushkin, James Reimer, and brothers Eric and Marc Staal also began refusing to wear Pride jerseys or tape. From there, teams such as the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Minnesota Wild elected to not have team Pride jerseys at all.

The Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks attempted to come to the defense of their decision, citing the safety of their Russian players as a reason to not wear the jerseys out of fear of retaliation from the Russian government, though it is a struggle to find any documented backlash against Russian players wearing Pride jerseys.

This ban on specialty jerseys and Pride Tape comes during a time that is already fraught with anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. As conservative lawmakers are pushing moral panics onto the public from every angle, the NHL’s decision to not stand with their queer fans sends a clear and unfortunate message. 

It should also be noted that the ban on specialty jerseys now stops teams from wearing specialty jerseys for events such as Military Appreciation Day or Kids Day—two other heavily participated in specialty nights. Time will only tell if the NHL will continue to stick to their specialty jersey ban, or if they will wind up making exceptions for more “palatable” theme nights while still excluding Pride alongside Black and Latino heritage events, which were also previously celebrated.