During the last NHL season, Ivan Provorov became the first player to boycott wearing a [Gay] Pride Jersey, and while that was his choice, it did have a major fallout on the entire league leading to the ban on wearing specialty Jerseys during warmups and hockey tape.
At the beginning of this season, Travis Dermott would be seen quietly using Pride tape during a game against the Anaheim Ducks.
One thing to know about Dermott is he only has a one-year two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes and essentially risked his career to go against the NHL. Dermott has said this about the NHL and Pride night.
Dermott said these quotes about it in a variety of interviews.
“Not like I’ve really established myself — signed a long-term deal — and because of that was comfortable doing this,” he said. “Definitely some anxious moments where I wasn’t sure how it would impact my career. I had crazy ideas going through my head like, ‘Am I going to get kicked out of the league? Are they going to fine me? Am I going to get suspended?’ CBC
“A bunch of thoughts are going through your head,” Dermott said in a phone interview this week. “But not one of them was, ‘Should I do this or shouldn’t I do this?’ It was more, ‘How fast is it going to blow up? How much is it going to blow up? Is anyone even going to notice?’ CBC
(https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-pride-tape-dermott-had-to-be-done-1.7010556)
48 hours later, the NHL would make a statement saying, “After consultation with the NHL Players’ Association and the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, players will now have the opportunity to voluntarily represent social causes with their stick tape throughout the season,” NHL
Breakdown of Events Leading Up:
Pride tape is rainbow flag hockey tape that is available for everyone to use but is typically used by NHL players on Pride nights… This is pride tape:
Pride nights are obviously celebrating gay pride and inclusion in the sport of hockey. They are a theme night most teams do along the likes of Hockey Fights Cancer, Military Appreciation Nights, Law Enforcement/First Responders nights, and Cultural Heritage Nights, along with others usually varying on the team. Specialty Jerseys are made and used to be worn for warmups on some of these nights, along with items given away. Here are some examples:
Ivan Provorov was a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers (Now playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets). He was the first player not to wear the Pride jersey. He cited religious reasons for not wearing a Pride jersey or tape.
The Flyers are owned by Comcast Corporation. I will get into brand politics in the thought section: Comcast also owns NBC, CNN, and MSNBC, along with Universal Theme Parks and many more; this definitely had some things to do with the Flyer’s individual response to the Provorov situation, although I will not get into it here.
Multiple Russian players refused to wear jerseys/tape due to family reasons; Russia has laws against gay propaganda, and we do not know everyone’s family situation. Payers who have disobeyed the Russian government have been targeted as part of smear campaigns. These players are not going to be mentioned because, again, one cannot know what is going on in their lives or the exact reason behind their choice. Maybe it’s a cop-out, but maybe it’s not, but that is not for you to decide; you have to go based on the information given.
The rest of the players who refused to wear the Pride Jerseys for religious reasons are Canadian and American: James Reimer and Brothers Eric and Marc Stall.
This is Eric Staal wearing a Pride Jersey with the Montreal Canadiens one season earlier. 
The New York Rangers, as a team, would say in the write-up that they would be using pride jerseys but quietly didn’t use them. A player would later state that the team had no idea of the decision to pull them.
The Minnesota Wild would also do what the Rangers did, not citing a reason for the team’s decision
Commonly Asked Questions:
Here are some questions I have seen floating around the internet.
“All the players who boycotted are Russian.”
A simple Google search of James Reimer and Marc and Eric Staal will show that they are Canadian. Me saying don’t comment on a situation if you don’t know anything about the situation besides a singular news article goes both ways.
“What about Law Enforcement/Military appreciation nights.”
Most teams had (have) both, although the Canadian teams are obviously celebrating the CANADIAN army/police. The New York Rangers have two.
“What about having a cross on their stick”
Multiple goalies such as Joseph Woll and Philip Grubauer and others have or have had religious crosses on their helmets; no one is stopping a player from drawing one on their stick. Some players literally pray on ice if you are watching a broadcast close enough you can see players like Shesterkin do so.
“What about Military Tape?”
Yes, there is camo/American Flag/Canadian Flag hockey tape, and technically, there are no rules against them using it. Keep in mind that the NHL has a good chunk of European players. Do you think some 22-year-old Finish winger who plays for team Finland and is in their first NHL season is gonna deck their stick out in American Flag Tape? Do you think an American Player is going to put Canadian Flag hockey tape on their stick if they play for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
“The NHL should ban them [For not wearing a pride jersey].”
What would that do? Like, genuinely tell me… make them be a big fan of gay people. The NHL has more pressing issues to ban players for… again, maybe do some research.
“People [Players] can choose what they wear.”
Yes, that’s true. Probably 1% of people are saying they should get kicked out of the league for not wearing a jersey. Those people most likely aren’t even hockey fans and probably hadn’t even heard the name Ivan Provorov before he was featured on a pop account. Players have a choice; they can be judged for that choice just as you’re judging them for wearing it, and as it’s a choice banning it goes against your point.
