A hockey stick is shown with rainbow-coloured hockey tape before an NHL game in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Longtime NHL executive Brian Burke says the NHL's decision to ban on-ice support for community causes, which includes the use of rainbow-coloured stick tape on Pride nights, is a "surprising and serious setback." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Longtime NHL executive Brian Burke says the league’s decision to ban on-ice support for community causes, which includes the use of rainbow-coloured stick tape on Pride nights, is a “surprising and serious setback.”
The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players can and cannot do as part of theme celebrations this season.
The updated guidance reaffirms on-ice player uniforms and gear for warmups and official team practices cannot be altered to reflect theme nights.
Burke, the executive director of the Professional Women’s Hockey League Players’ Association, said on social media that he is “deeply disappointed” by the league’s decision.
The 68-year-old says it strips teams and players of a powerful way to support causes they care about to protect the small minority of players “who do not want to answer any questions about their choices.”
The NHL came under fire last season after a handful of players opted out of wearing Pride-themed jerseys, and decided in June to disallow teams from wearing themed uniforms in warmups.
The league has said players opting out of Pride nights served as a distraction to the work its teams were doing in the community.
Burke is a staunch supporter of the LGBTQ community in hockey. In 2012, he helped launch the You Can Play project in memory of his son, Brendan, who died in a car accident in 2010. The project is targeted at ending homophobia in sports.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2023.
– With files from The Associated Press
