The NHL bans Pride Tape, setting off a backlash from players and fans NPR
Rainbow-colored Pride Tape has been part of pro ice hockey for seven years, symbolizing the sport's pledge to be welcoming and inclusive. But the NHL has banned the athletic tape, quickly sparking a backlash.
Critics say the league's decision is a step backward. High-profile players say they're disappointed. At least one player said he'll likely use the colorful tape anyway.
"I'll use the tape — if I have to buy it myself, I will," Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton
said on Wednesday, discussing how he would mark his team's Pride Night.
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The NHL
announced over the summer that its players will no longer wear special jerseys during warmups to mark "theme nights," when teams show support for a variety of groups, from the LGBTQ+ community to Indigenous groups, the military, and people fighting cancer.
But as the NHL prepared to start a new season, it sent a memo announcing the ban also applies to Pride Tape, saying players aren't allowed to use it at any time.
The abrupt shift came after several NHL players made headlines last season for refusing to wear Pride Night themed jerseys, citing religious or other reasons.
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The multicolored
Pride Tape quickly became an "ingrained part of hockey culture" — and that quote comes from the
NHL's own website, in a story from 2021.
The tape got a big boost in early 2016, when
the Edmonton Oilers used it as a way to support young LGBTQ+ athletes who might otherwise quit playing ice hockey in the face of homophobia and discrimination.
The NHL made Pride Tape
an integral part of its teams' Pride Night celebrations, even selling the tape in its official league shop. The tape was part of outreach efforts such as Hockey Is For Everyone — a slogan that is now being questioned by critics of the NHL's new policy.
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But, it says, "It is now clear that the NHL is stepping back from its longstanding commitment to inclusion, and continuing to unravel all of its one-time industry-leading work on
2SLGBTQ+ belonging."
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What's the reaction within pro hockey?
"It sucks," Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson said repeatedly when asked about the new prohibition.
"It's something that's close to my heart and something I would love to support. But it is what it is, and we've got to find other ways to support it," Andersson said. Of the drama that arose around rainbow-colored tape and jerseys, he added, "It's a sensitive subject for some people, I don't understand why, but it is."
"It's unfortunate," Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly
said. He later added, "Whatever statement was made is fine, but as players, we're gonna continue to offer support and be allies. We want to be a part of this community."
Brian Burke, a former NHL and team executive who has advocated for hockey's inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community,
called the new policy "a surprising and serious setback."
Luke Prokop, an openly gay hockey player who is a prospect in the Nashville Predators organization, said this summer that he was disappointed to see some teams cancel pride nights after players refused to participate.
"Pride nights are an essential step towards fostering greater acceptance and understanding in hockey,"
Prokop said. He later added, "As someone who aspires to play on an NHL team one day, I would want to enter the locker room knowing I can share all parts of my identity with my teammates."
