The New York Rangers had Pride Night festivities at home on Friday when the Vegas Golden Knights visited them, but instead of fully inspiring inclusivity, it's become a dividing issue online.
While the Rangers did honor the LGBTQ+ community in other portions of the night, the players did not sport Pride-themed jerseys and stick tapes during warmups, which was originally part of the festivities.
With the Rangers suddenly deviating from the plan, which has been a fixture of their Pride Night celebration for nearly a decade now, many personalities, fans, and observers all have their eyebrows raised.
Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News says: “The fact the New York Rangers completely abandoned their plans to wear pre-game Pride jerseys shows how entrenched homophobia and transphobia is in hockey, and the NHL’s complicity to exclusion”
Baseball insider Jon Heyman also chimed in: “Without explanation, Rangers disappoint many and create unnecessary controversy by pulling back on Pride Night”
Sean McIndoe of The Athletic, meanwhile, couldn't help but compare how the Rangers and Flyers dealt with their respective Pride Night controversy, with Philly somehow looking more respectable.
“Say what you will about how the Flyers handled things (and I have), but at least they didn't let Provorov hide. They made sure he owned it, even in the absence of real consequences. Rangers seem to be trying a different approach”
The Rangers have released a statement to address the issue, saying that “In keeping with our organization’s core values, we support everyone’s individual right to respectfully express their beliefs,” which could mean that not everyone on the team felt comfortable wearing the said warmup jerseys.
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