If I had to guess where a major stand against LGBTQ+ bullying would occur, professional hockey would not have been among the candidates. All it takes, though, is a leader. In an earlier post, Ethics Alarms awarded an Ethics Hero designation and the first “Bite Me!” award to Ivan Provorov, the Philadelphia Flyers defenseman who refused to wear a “Pride”-themed warmup jersey as mandated by the team and the NHL. He knew he would be pilloried for not grovelling to the LGBTQ mob, but stood firm. He said, in effect, to those dictating which causes he must support, “Bite me!”

Now an entire NHL team, emboldened by his integrity, has followed Proverov’s lead. The New York Rangers declined to wear their “rainbow”practice jerseys prior to a home game against the Vegas Golden Knights on January 27^th, which had been designated “Pride Night.” The team’s promotions had promised that the players would, but they apparently decided that they were not going to be the organization’s cynical billboards. Not wearing the jerseys does not, as some claimed, constitute a rejection of the LGBTQ+ cause. It is a rejection of forced political or social expression.

The Rangers had no right to promise a public endorsement of any particular cause by the individual players. The players had no obligation to rescue the team from an unethical and irresponsible promise that amounted to false advertising. The team still “prided” the night like crazy: it announced a charitable donation to a group that supports homeless LGBTQ+ youth, Madison Square Garden was illuminated in rainbow lights during the game. Broadway star Michael James Scott, openly gay, sang the national anthem. Andre Thomas, the co-chair of NYC Pride and Heritage of Pride, took part in the ceremonial puck drop. Fans received a Pride-themed fanny pack, while the pinwheel ceiling and panels on the outside of the Garden were illuminated in the rainbow colors.

Not good enough! The local sports media, in a Provorov sequel, were annoyed. Here’s New York Post columnist Mollie Walker’s lament:

By veering from their promoted plan to wear Pride-themed jerseys for their annual Pride Night on Friday at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers turned what was otherwise a beautiful celebration of inclusivity into a story about the organization. It’s ironic that the reversed decision to forgo the special warm-ups and tape was presumably made to avoid a public relations mess. Instead, that’s exactly what has happened. After making a public promise that the team would don the rainbow colors of the Pride flag “in solidarity” with the LGBTQ+ community, and then walking back on it, what did the organization think would happen? There were fans who purchased their tickets to see themselves represented on the ice, and they were left disappointed.

They were disappointed that an organization and the individuals who are employed by it didn’t jump like trained dogs through their rainbow hoops. No little rainbows on the warm-up jerseys!

As Clarkson Lawson, a gay man commenting on the Provorov episode, said on social media,

“The fact that we have this incessant need for validation shows that we’re not actually secure in who we are. We don’t need a pride night or a pride month. Just live your life, be happy with who you are, and stop trying to so hard to garner validation from people who are not going to give it to you. Our acceptance of ourselves should not be contingent on other people agreeing with us. If you truly want to be happy with who you are, find validation from within. Your life will be way better off because of it.”

I do not expect that Lawson’s perspective will find much support among the people who demand rainbows and pink and blue cakes. With this story, Ethics Alarms is, belatedly I’m afraid, officially established the LGBTQ+ Activism Ethics Train Wreck.

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