Tale of the tape not a great one so far

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This article was published 02/11/2023 (1063 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was unfortunate that Phoenix Coyotes defenceman Travis Dermott fell ill late last week and was unavailable to skate in the team’s annual Pride Night game on Oct. 27. Dermott became one of the biggest NHL allies of the LGBTTQ+ community a week earlier when — in defiance of a league edict — he used Pride-coloured tape on his stick.

The NHL at first suggested it might punish Dermott. Then, after consulting with the player’s union and the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, the league said players could advocate for social causes with stick tape.

Unfortunately, Dermott was not present to formally celebrate his victory over the league’s asinine policy.

Even more worrisome was the fact that none of Dermott’s teammates used Pride tape during the Oct. 27 game. In a professional sport where team unity is preached like a holy gospel, you might have expected some of Dermott’s teammates to step up. They did not and as a result, the NHL continues to demonstrate it is afraid to show support for an abused and marginalized minority at a time when it most needs support.

The fact that many NHL teams will continue to have Pride Nights is a positive. However, the league’s attempt to stop players from showing any visible sign of support for Pride reveals the darker side of culture, both in hockey and in society.

The past practice of having home teams wear rainbow-themed special edition jerseys on Pride Nights was a win-win for the LGBTTQ+ community and for the teams. It was an opportunity for these institutions to demonstrate courage and moral strength in the face of hate. The fact that these jerseys were auctioned off after the game to raise money for related causes should also be noted.

However, after seven players — who represent 0.8 per cent of NHL players — refused to participate in Pride night warmups featuring special jerseys, the NHL opted to ban the practice. The sight of the league deferring to less than one per cent of all players, and turning their back on the 99 per cent who willingly participated in Pride nights, was as cowardly as it gets. The attempt to ban individual players from showing support for Pride only made a bad situation even worse.

These decisions seem to ignore the fact that many LGBTTQ+ athletes report they are regularly marginalized and abused because of their sexual orientation. Even when presented with these problems, teams and leagues across a whole range of sports are choosing to duck and cover rather than demonstrating their support for LGBTTQ+ athletes.

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FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, decided no player on any of the 32 teams headed to Qatar for the men’s World Cup last November, or the women’s world cup this past summer in Australia and New Zealand, would be allowed to wear Pride-coloured armbands. Players objected to the policies, but none defied FIFA’s edict.

In both cases, the NHL and FIFA demonstrated the depth to which systemic discrimination is embedded in society. If this situation is to be reversed, it will take some of the biggest stars of professional sports to demonstrate their support in defiance of these policies.

In hockey, that moment could come on Jan. 18, 2024, when the Edmonton Oilers host their Pride Night. Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid — arguably the best hockey player in the world and the NHL’s most marketable asset — has been an outspoken critic of the decision to ban Pride jerseys and tape.

This is McDavid’s — and the league’s — opportunity to show some courage.

One can only hope he seizes the moment.