Pride tape, rainbow colored hockey tape, has long been part of NHL pride nights. Players would use the colorful tape on their sticks during warm-ups, but only if they wanted to as it was always optional. Nearly every player in the league used the tape anyways. Some even used the tape in game, although the vast majority of players switched back to the traditional white or black tape options.
The league initially seemed to ban pride jerseys as a way of appeasing players who did not want to wear them. Now it seems that players who actively want to support the LGBTQ+ community will have their voices silenced.
The League shared the following statement with each team, indicating that players must now essentially refrain from commenting on anything that isn't hockey related.
It is now unclear how teams will handle their various special event nights but one thing is for sure. The league's slogan, "Hockey is for everyone," is meaningless. The slogan was already used as a punchline for many NHL-related jokes but now those jokes will only become more prevalent as this policy is a blatant contradiction of it.
As seen on Marker Zone
POLL | ||
9 OCTOBRE | 88 ANSWERS MAJOR: NHL Bans Pride Tape For All Official Events Should the NHL reinstate Pride night? | ||
Yes | 24 | 27.3 % |
No | 64 | 72.7 % |
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