I’ll state the obvious upfront and address that I’m not the sports guy around here.

I’m that guy who talks parenting, pop culture, and (occasionally) politics but something about the NHL’s formal response to the Provorov situation has struck a chord with me and I think it needs to be addressed.

Let’s set the stage

Provorov didn’t warm up with his Flyers teammates on Tuesday night ahead of Philadelphia’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. The Flyers wore Pride-themed jerseys and used sticks wrapped in rainbow-coloured tape during the pre-game activities but Provorov, who is Russian Orthodox, said it was against his religious beliefs to support an LGBTQ initiative.

Seems like a great opportunity for the NHL to issue a fine, maybe a light suspension, and back the “You Can Play Project”. A little bit of good PR for a sport and league that is always in dire need of it.

But no, they decide to say this:

What a bunch of horseshit. “Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues.” Respectfully, fuck off…What if their position is wrong? What if they still believe in segregation? Where does the NHL draw the line on this encouragement of voices and perspectives?

I can make that statement FAR more palatable with just a few words “Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues. However, we disagree with the stance and position taken by this player and we will be ensuring that additional inclusivity training is mandatory in all future programs.”

That’s it. Something. A stance. A position. But that’s not what they did. They issued a soft non-stance to not upset their Russian players and investors. They issued a statement that keeps the closeted gay player in the closet a little bit longer. They issued a statement that could prevent a little boy or girl from feeling welcomed into hockey.

Rightly or wrongly, hockey has a lot of negative perceptions to deal with. It’s a mainly straight white rich kid sport, that is only cared about in Canada, Russia, and parts of Europe the average person couldn’t quickly identify on a map.

The NHL and its partnership with the You Can Play Project had a chance to send a message loud and clear to the masses. And it did, I just think it was the wrong one.