NHL bans players’ use of Pride Tape after previously disallowing themed warmup jerseys

The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players can and cannot do as part of theme celebrations this season, including a ban on the use of rainbow-coloured stick tape for the Pride nights that have become a hot-button issue in hockey.

The updated guidance reaffirms on-ice player uniforms and gear for warmup and official team practices cannot be altered to reflect theme nights, including Pride, Hockey Fights Cancer or military appreciation celebrations. Players can voluntarily participate in themed celebrations off the ice.

Deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday, a few hours before the season opened with a trio of games, that the league sent the updated memo, first reported by ESPN.

“The Pride Tape team is extremely disappointed by the NHL’s decision to eliminate Pride Tape from any league on-ice activities,” The makers of Pride Tape said in a tweet on Tuesday.

“The league has used language in recent days which 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.”

The NHL decided in June not to allow teams to wear any theme jerseys for warmup after a handful of players opted out of those situations during Pride night last season. The league has said players opting out of Pride nights served as a distraction to the work its teams were doing in the community.

WATCH | NHL players to stop wearing Pride jerseys:

“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,” commissioner Gary Bettman said in February during all-star weekend festivities. “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.”

Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov was the first player to decide not to take part in warmups when the Flyers wore rainbow-coloured jerseys before their Pride night game in January, citing his Russian Orthodox religion.

Six other players followed for a variety of reasons — fellow Russians Ilya Lyubushkin, Denis Gurianov and Andrei Kuzmenko and Canadians James Reimer and Eric and Marc Staal — and individual teams including the New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild and Chicago decided not to have any players wear Pride jerseys in warmup.

WATCH | Handful of NHLers object to wearing Pride-themed jerseys:

Handful of NHLers object to wearing Pride-themed jerseys

Featured VideoCanadian NHL players Mark and Eric Staal are the latest to join a handful of others who are refusing to wear Pride-themed warm-up jerseys in support of the LGBTQ community. It’s ignited a debate over inclusivity and personal freedom in pro-hockey.