Firstly, we’d just like to say that we are people born from the struggles for the liberation of our predecessors, and we violently reject the dehumanization of Palestinians and the genocide being committed against them. Below are some resources:
Last year, the disappearances of Pride Nights in the NHL were in full effect. We discussed the topic more than once, so here are the links if you want to refresh your memory.
https://tohockeywithlove.substack.com/p/ot-the-bare-minimum-league
https://tohockeywithlove.substack.com/p/ot-are-we-not-bored-yet
In June, Gary Bettman’s solution to end this issue was to ban all special warm-up jerseys across all teams for the upcoming season, which brings us here.
On October 10, Outsports and ESPN reported that several clubs had sought clarification on a memo sent by the league regarding theme nights. That memo was one of the wildest things we’ve seen, essentially greenlighting discrimination to let players avoid embarrassment. In case you think we’re exaggerating, here is a tidbit:
“Players shall not be put in the position of having to demonstrate (or where they may be appearing to demonstrate) personal support for any Special Initiatives. A factor that may be considered in this regard includes, for example, whether a Player (or Players) is required to be in close proximity to any groups or individuals visibly or otherwise clearly associated with such Special Initiative(s).” (ESPN)
The memo itself was bad, but the story re-ignited the fervor around the decision to ban theme nights when the NHL prohibited the use of Pride Tape. It proved to be hugely unpopular to the point that it was reaching corners of the internet hockey usually is not in (Hey PopCrave!).
That decision was quickly turned around when, on October 22, Travis Dermott put Pride Tape on his stick in defiance of the ban (side note: this article about his decision is pretty cool). Shortly afterwards, the NHL released a statement rescinding the decision. It’s almost like pandering to a handful of bigots isn’t a winning strategy in the long run!
First, calling them a gormless motley of fools has no real analytical value, but it does feel very good to say.
Due to the ridiculousness of the current situation, we’ve decided to put forward the official “To Hockey With Love” list of things that we think should be banned in the NHL:
32 teams playing on the same day. On a Tuesday? Jobless behaviour!!
Logos on the ground. If you don’t want people stepping on it, don’t put it on the floor!
Bad coaches getting rehired immediately
Fanatics being the official sponsor of the league
Toronto Maple Leafs fans
Edmonton, Alberta (this is just Gaby, though and only after she gets to see the dinosaurs)
People complaining about Arizona. Yeah, yeah, we get it. It’s not a traditional market, but baby, you will not get a second team in Quebec.
Social media managers saying “drip” over the most basic suit you’ve ever seen
All-Inclusive in Barbados for hockey players
Stats that don’t mean shit (looking at you, @SNstats)
Nepo babies in hockey
Seth Jones for skewing contract amounts for defensemen in this economy
Long term contracts
Hockey people who have their Instagrams locked. How are we supposed to be nosy?
Hockey players on golf courses
People who read our newsletter but don’t subscribe. We see you!
Obviously, we’re kidding about this (kind of), but it serves to highlight the sheer absurdity of all of this. The lack of thought and consideration about how the public reaction would be demonstrates a league completely siloed from their players, fans, and maybe even their staff. We have a hard time imagining anyone with even the tiniest bit of DEI experience wouldn’t have clocked the doomed nature of this. It feels unnecessary to point out to a group of supposed industry professionals that the league needs to realize that they don’t exist in a vacuum and they can, in fact, be perceived.
You cannot half-ass these types of efforts, yet here we are. Because they have never fully embraced those initiatives, they don’t know what a successful initiative looks like, so removing the little they did crumbles the entire effort.
It’s also not as big of a win as people are framing it to be. Even before this, Pride Tape was a superficial endeavor at best. It was never a political act of resistance or an initiative that pushed the needle for meaningful inclusion. That’s why it’s frustrating and demoralizing that the efforts of queer people in the sport have been reduced to fighting for the right to use tape. We have not addressed the structural issues that cause this problem in the first place or what the league is doing to manage this via its policies or initiatives. It was a perfect way to detract from the real homophobia festering in the league.
We also don’t understand why the people involved in this decided to thank Gary and the league for going back on this. We, under no circumstances, have to hand it to them. Thanking the person who harmed you in the first place is crazy.
With Love and Solidarity,
Gaby and Perrye