NHL bows to homophobes & officially bans players from wearing Pride jerseys or using Pride tape
From ESPN:More than eight teams, the source said, raised concerns about part of the memo that stated, “Players shall not be put in the position of having to demonstrate (or where they may be appearing to demonstrate) personal support for any Special Initiatives.
A factor that may be considered in this regard includes, for example, whether a Player (or Players) is required to be in close proximity to any groups or individuals visibly or otherwise clearly associated with such Special Initiative(s).”The intended purpose of the initial memo, according to the league source, was to inform teams that they cannot wear any specialty sweaters during a game, in warmups or at an official practice.
The source said the only off-ice restriction facing teams is that they can’t force players to participate in events regarding the specialty causes, because some players might fear retribution or embarrassment if they decide to not take part.In addition, the league is also banning players from using Pride tape on their sticks, Outsports reports.
There are multiple glaring issues to pick apart with the memo. For starters, the line about players not being required to be in “close proximity to any groups or individuals visibly or otherwise clearly associated with such Special Initiative” seems like grounds for discrimination and exclusion.
