Examining goalie’s decision not to wear pride jersey

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This article was published 06/04/2023 (918 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Religion can be found everywhere, if you look for it. This includes sports. That’s what happened last month when James Reimer, the Manitoba-born goalie with the San Jose Sharks, decided not to wear an LGBTTQ+ pride jersey before a hockey game.

In refusing to wear the jersey — intended as a statement by the NHL to show that everyone, including LGBTTQ+ people, are welcome in hockey — Reimer cited his religious beliefs.

“In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions, which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in life,” he said in a statement.

He went on to say he has a “personal faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and follow him. I have no hate in my heart for anyone, and I have always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect and kindness.”

He added that he strongly believes “that every person has value and worth, and the LGBTQIA+ community, like all others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey.”

Reimer developed those convictions in his Evangelical Mennonite Conference (EMC) church in his hometown of Morweena, Man., located 140 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

That made me wonder: What does that denomination say about LGBTTQ+? As it turns out, there is nothing about it in its denominational statement of faith, although the group does regard marriage as being only between a man and a woman.

But Reimer wasn’t asked to weigh in on same-sex marriage; just on whether members of that community would be welcome in hockey. Which also made me wonder: Would LGBTTQ+ people be welcome in EMC churches?

The answer is “absolutely yes,” said the denomination’s executive director, Tim Dyck, adding that everyone is welcome to be part of that group — although they draw the line at performing same-sex weddings.

If that’s the case, then maybe Reimer could have spared himself all the public relations grief by just wearing the jersey. From what I can tell, it wouldn’t have put him offside with the denomination.

Staying with the denomination Reimer grew up in, one of its hallmarks is a commitment to pacifism. It’s right there in its statement of faith: “We believe in the life of peace. We are called to walk in the steps of the Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace. Everything about his life, his teachings and his redemptive death on the cross, summons us to a life of nonviolence. As Christians committed to love and nonviolence, we may not participate in or support anything that will violate this life of peace.”

While Reimer said he can’t wear a pride jersey because of his religious convictions, he doesn’t appear to have any problem wearing jerseys that celebrate the military. In fact, you can buy a “James Reimer San Jose Sharks Adidas Authentic Military Appreciation Practice Jersey (Camo)” at the team’s online store. And an online search pulls up a 2015 photo of Reimer wearing a military-style jersey at a military-appreciation night with members of the Canadian Armed Forces while a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But maybe I’m being too hard on Reimer. Few of us are perfectly consistent when it comes to the ways in which we live out our religious beliefs. We all have done and said things that don’t line up with the things we were taught in our places of worship. We are all tempted to cherry-pick the verses that line up with our way of thinking and ignore others that don’t. And people also change; it could be Reimer no longer agrees with the principle of pacifism he was raised with.

When it comes to LGBTTQ+ rights, religion is being invoked by many people as a reason to exclude members of that community from full welcome and fellowship. Those discussions normally play out on the faith page, or sometimes in other parts of the newspaper. Rarely do you find them in the sports section. But thanks to Reimer, it became a sports story, too.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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