Former All-Star defenseman and current ESPN contributor P.K. Subban spoke up for NHL players by speaking out against the continued effort to shame players who refuse to take part in LGBTQ+ propaganda at games.
P.K. Subban via P.K. Subban YouTube
Subban said in a recent interview with Reuters that he doesn’t agree with the NHL’s “push” to force every single player into becoming an “activist,” remarking that there are probably more accommodating ways outside of making them “having to wear a hat, a T-shirt or jersey.”
“We cannot push everyone to be an activist, we need to be very careful,” said the hockey veteran. “I feel people pick and choose what they want to talk about and I don’t like it when we put the onus on athletes to be activists.”
“They don’t need to be activists,” Subban added. “I’m not saying it is right or wrong to wear the (Pride) jersey, we have just got to be very careful how we push players to do things. You can support the LGBTQ community without having to wear a hat, a T-shirt or a jersey.”
Ivan Provorov via CBS Philadelphia YouTube
RELATED: San Jose Sharks Goaltender James Reimer Refuses To Wear Pride Jerseys
Subban’s remarks come after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman revealed to CTV News that the NHL would have to evaluate Pride Nights in the offseason.
“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 stated to the press last week. “This is one issue where players for a variety of reasons may not feel comfortable wearing the uniform as a form of endorsement.”
Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner presenting the Stanley Cup to Los Angeles Kings Captain Dustin Brown after the Stanley Cup final in April 2013. Photo Credit: mark6mauno, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
This past year, many hockey fans and even non-fans supported Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov after he was chastised by the sports world and the media over his refusal to wear rainbow themed, pro-LGBTQ+ jerseys.
Other athletes followed suit, including San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer, who like Provorov, cited his religious beliefs as his reason for abstaining.
Subban stated that the primary problem is that the media chooses to make villains out of players who do not abide by the current popular narrative, instead of actually focusing on “positive” stories about the NHL and their players, instead choosing controversy.
“The people that write the articles, the people that push certain narratives in the media, they have to be held accountable,” said Subban. “We have to be very, very careful about the way we perceive a moment.”
“There’s many players in the league that have started programs — why aren’t the media talking about that?”
Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban during game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, June 8, 2017, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. Photo Credit: Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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