Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may not be able to defeat Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, but he appears to have easily vanquished the National Hockey League and the league’s commissioner, Gary Bettman.
Putin’s agenda of hate has obstructed and embarrassed the business of the NHL and a number of its teams this season with a Russian law passed last December that has played havoc with promotional and charitable efforts throughout the league.
The NHL has held its collective breath since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, hoping that the ramifications of the invasion, which has resulted in worldwide condemnation, would not impact the nearly 60 Russian players in the league.
But now it has, and it’s put club executives throughout the NHL in humiliating positions of having to go back on promises to charities and nonprofit organizations that hoped to partner in fundraising and awareness efforts for the LGBTQ community.
In December, Putin signed a new law that bans public expression of the identity of LGBTQ people, according to The New York Times. The new law makes it illegal to spread “propaganda” about “nontraditional sexual relations” in the media, advertising, movies or on social media. Demonstrations of “nontraditional relationships or preferences” also will be barred entirely from advertising and from any outlet visible to minors.
One month later, the NHL saw that law influence the business of the league when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov’s refusal to take part in the team’s Pride Night festivities. He would not wear the team’s special rainbow-themed jerseys in the Flyers’ warmups. They also wrapped their sticks in rainbow tape. The jerseys and sticks would be auctioned off for charities connected to diversity efforts in hockey.
Provorov told reporters he refused to take part in the event because of his Russian Orthodox religious beliefs. “I respect everybody, and I respect everybody’s choices,” he said. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say.”
The same night in Washington, Putin’s cheerleader, Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, did not take part in his team’s Pride Night celebration, held in partnership with Giant Food.
The Capitals chose to simply have their players wrap their pregame warmup sticks in Pride rainbow tape. The sticks were used and autographed by various players and put up for auction to raise money to benefit SMYAL, a nonprofit that works to empower LGBTQ youth. There were team-signed items such as calendars that included Ovechkin’s signature. But zero Pride items signed by Ovechkin.
Team officials confirmed Ovechkin’s lack of participation in the event (his Russian teammate, Evgeny Kuznetzov, signed a Capital Pride puck for the silent auction).
You only read about Ovechkin’s refusal to participate in the Capitals’ Pride Night fundraiser here in this space — no place else. I guess it didn’t fit in the narrative of the Wayne Gretzky record chase.
No reason was given for the star’s lack of participation. The decision to take part in the pride taping of the sticks is left up to the players, team officials said.
That was the National Hockey League’s position as well.
“Clubs decide whom to celebrate, when and how — with league counsel and support,” the NHL said in a statement in response to questions about Provorov’s refusal to take part in the celebration. “Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues.”
Not all Russian players refused to take part in their team’s charitable work to support LGBTQ rights. In December, the Pittsburgh Penguins held their Pride Night, and Russian star Evgeni Malkin wore a Pride jersey. There were several others sprinkled around the league, and several others who aren’t Russian cited their Christian beliefs for refusing to participate.
But after Provorov’s and Ovechkin’s refusals to participate, the issue began to snowball, and it became clear when other teams had similar issues with their Russian players taking part in Pride Night activities and canceled Pride warmup jerseys as part of their promotion.
NHL clubs aren’t deciding who celebrates LGBTQ rights, when and how — Putin is.
The Chicago Blackhawks, according to a Chicago Sun-Times story, decided not to wear rainbow-colored Pride jerseys during the team’s warmups for their scheduled Pride Night because of safety concerns for Russian players. Chicago has three Russian players on its roster. The Blackhawks have worn Pride Night warmup jerseys in previous seasons. But that was before Putin made any support of the LGBTQ community a crime.
Bill Daly, NHL deputy commissioner, told The Athletic that the league had no information about threats to Russian players if they chose to participate in Pride Night activities. But the word was out.
Late last month, Bettman waved the flag of surrender when he said the NHL will evaluate its Pride Nights moving forward. “This is the first time we’ve experienced that, and I think it’s something that we’re going to have to evaluate in the offseason,” Bettman told CTV News on March 27.
Mind you, teams in the league have been holding Pride Night events for years now. It wasn’t a particularly difficult issue — until Putin’s December hate law against the LGBTQ was passed.
There is, in all likelihood, reason for Russian players to be concerned. Putin is in a corner and out of control. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for the Russian dictator, charging him with war crimes.
He is kidnapping Ukrainian children and taking news reporters hostage. When the war started, I believed that Ovechkin could have removed his Instagram profile photo of him and the war criminal without fear of reprisal. No more. The dictator is desperate, and the league should be in fear as well. There is a line that Putin may cross when the participation of Russian players in the league is no longer acceptable.
Putin may be losing the war on the Ukrainian battlefields. But he has won here in America in NHL arenas.
⦁ Hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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