Philadelphia Flyers left winger Scott Laughton has taken a firm stand against the NHL’s recent decision to disallow players from using rainbow Pride tape on their hockey sticks during theme celebrations this season.
The league sent a memo to teams outlining this policy change, prompting Laughton, who is 29 years old, to express his disagreement.
Laughton stated that he intends to continue using Pride tape on his sticks despite the league’s directive.
He emphasized that this decision will not alter his commitment to supporting the Pride community and that he would even purchase the tape himself if necessary.
Former league and team executive Brian Burke, a prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ communities, strongly criticized the NHL for this decision.
He argued that the league’s action was an abandonment of support for those who may not want to openly discuss their choices and that it has closed a door that has been open for the past decade. Burke characterized the NHL’s move as a surprising and significant setback.
The article also mentions a previous incident involving former Flyers player Ivan Provorov, who refused to wear a rainbow jersey during their Pride Night warmups last January, citing religious beliefs. Some players from other teams made similar decisions.
In June, the NHL had already banned themed jerseys during warmups, asserting that players opting out of such situations detracted from the community work done by teams.
In other news, Rasmus Ristolainen’s status for the Flyers’ opener in Columbus on Thursday remains uncertain.
Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella indicated that Ristolainen did not engage in contact during practice on Wednesday, but he continued to stress that Ristolainen’s undisclosed injury was not severe.
Tortorella emphasized that he did not want to risk a situation where a player returned for one game and then had to miss the next few due to lingering issues.
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