NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league doesn’t have any information to suggest its Russian players are at material risk, either in Russia or elsewhere, if they choose to participate in teams’ Pride night activities, Daly told The Athletic on Friday. This news comes after multiple teams have cited safety concerns for players of Russian heritage as justification for not having them wear Pride jerseys.
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“We take all risks seriously, and this one is no different,” Daly wrote in an email to The Athletic. “Having said that, we have no information that would suggest there is any material threat that would exist (in Russia or otherwise) related to a Russian player participating in a club’s Pride activities.”
The Chicago Blackhawks became the latest team this season to decide to not have their players wear Pride jerseys during warmups for their upcoming Pride night. According to team sources, the decision was made by team management and security officials due to fear for the safety of their Russian heritage players.
After publication, the Blackhawks sent The Athletic a statement saying that while they agreed with the league’s assessment regarding the material risk to Russian players, they still believe a response was warranted.
“We are unaware of any direct, material threat on an individual currently. That being said, we understand that there is a more general threat toward certain players and believe we need to respond accordingly. We will not have any further comment on this matter at this time. We wish to reiterate that our overall Pride night will go on as planned, and we are excited for all of the activities and LGBTQIA+ community members who will be in the spotlight.”
The Minnesota Wild also previously scraped their plans to wear Pride jerseys out of a similar concern. The New York Rangers, who have several prominent Russian players, also did not wear Pride jerseys after previously announcing they would, citing the reason being, “individual right to respectfully express their beliefs.”
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Teams’ concern for Russian player safety has arisen since Russia’s anti-gay laws were amended in early December. Per The New York Times, the new law makes it “illegal to spread ‘propaganda’ about ‘nontraditional sexual relations’ in all media, including social, advertising and movies.” The law states fines can be up to $6,4000 for citizens and $80,000 for organizations.
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Other NHL teams have gone forward this season with permitting their players to wear Pride warmup jerseys.
In January, Brian Burke, a veteran hockey executive whose family helped reshape the conversation around LGBTQ+ issues in professional sports, said he was left “clearly and visibly annoyed” by teams scaling back scheduled Pride events, but believes the push toward inclusivity will continue around the game.
Earlier that month, the Flyers had one player (Russian defenseman Ivan Provorov) opt out of warmups with his teammates on their Pride night in January because he didn’t want to wear the team’s Pride jersey, citing his Russian Orthodox religious beliefs. The Wild abandoned their plans to don Pride jerseys out of concern for Russian players. Star forward Kirill Kaprizov, notably, had a difficult journey back to the United States after returning to Russia this past offseason.
In March, the Sharks continued with plans to host their Pride night despite an opt-out by goaltender James Reimer, who cited his faith as a reason for not wearing a Pride jersey during warmups. Most recently, Panthers players Marc and Eric Staal did not participate in warmups as part of the team’s Pride night on Thursday, also citing their Christian beliefs.
(Photo: Mark LoMoglio / NHLI via Getty Images)