The NHL's decision to ban teams from wearing specialty jerseys on the ice or modifying gear with Pride Tape has provoked a backlash from players across the NHL.
The makers of Pride Tape have reported that multiple NHL players and teams have reached out to purchase more of the rainbow-coloured hockey tape that teams have used in the past to signify support for the inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ people in hockey. The strongest statement came from Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton, who said that he still intends to use Pride Tape on Pride Night no matter the consequences.
Minnesota Wild defenceman Jon Merrill echoed those sentiments, saying, "If anyone does it, what is the league going to do? Take me off the ice, give me a penalty? Then you look bad as a league. I don’t know. It’s upsetting. Just disappointing."
The Vancouver Canucks were considerably more guarded in their statements, however, with general manager Patrik Allvin saying the team will "follow the league rules and what they're telling us to do."
Canucks captain Quinn Hughes made it clear that the Canucks will continue to support Pride off the ice even if such support is banned on the ice, while the team's NHLPA representative, Ian Cole, said, "Unfortunately, as employees, we don’t get a ton of say in it."
Now, a local 2SLGBTQ+ hockey club is calling for the Canucks to make a much stronger statement.
The Cutting Edges are a hockey team and charitable organization that was originally founded to compete in the 1994 Gay Games in New York and now works to provide a safe environment for 2SLGBTQ+ people to participate in hockey and to promote the inclusion of the 2SLGBTQ+ community within the world of hockey.
The Canucks and Cutting Edges have partnered together for Pride events many times over the years, including marching together in the Vancouver Pride parade. Now the hockey club wants the Canucks to denounce the NHL's decision.
"The continued elimination of LGBTQ+ visibility within the sport (by removing symbols like warmup jerseys and pride tape) is a giant step backwards in the fight for inclusivity and flies directly in the face of the NHL's purported 'Hockey is for Everyone' campaign," said the Cutting Edges in a statement. "There's a reason there are no 'out' active players or coaches active in the NHL — homophobia is part of the 'locker room culture' that the league (and the wider world of hockey) has cultivated over the years."
The hockey club criticized the NHL for supporting inclusion and diversity only when it was "convenient and monetarily advantageous" and spoke directly to the Canucks ownership in calling for a stronger show of support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
"The Cutting Edges call upon the Vancouver Canucks, the Canucks players, and the Aquilini family to denounce this decision and ask it to be revoked," reads the statement. "If you support our community, then do it fully. Don't pretend and throw 'Pride Nights' with conditions and exceptions."
