Wear The Pride Jersey, Bigot
The saga of Ivan Provorov and the triumph of “Pride”
A single hockey player not wearing a Pride jersey is the latest battle in America’s culture war. Philadelphia Flyers Ivan Provorov didn’t join his teammates in their celebration of the team’s Pride Night Tuesday. All the other players wore Pride jerseys in warmups before their game against the Anaheim Ducks. Provorov chose not to.
"I respect everybody and I respect everybody’s choices," he told the media after the game. "My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say." He added that his religion is Russian Orthodox.
While his coach was fine with his decision, sports media was not. Hockey commentators competed to have the strongest condemnation of Provorov.
“Provorov obviously does not respect “everyone”. If he did respect everyone, he would have taken part in warm-up and worn the Pride Night jersey. Don’t hide behind religion,” said Canadian sportscaster Pierre LeBrun.
Fellow Canadian sportscaster Gord Miller said the Flyers should have benched Provorov to let him know that “[f]reedom of expression doesn’t give you freedom from the consequences of your words or actions.”
“Being LGBT+ is not a ‘choice.’ Being ignorant, obnoxious, and homophobic is a choice,” declared BetMGM hockey writer Rachel Millanta. “Ivan Provorov wasn't wearing uniform tonight and the @NHLFlyers should not have let him play. Stop letting bigots hide behind their cherry-picked religion. Do better.” (It’s reassuring to know betting platforms have such high morals.)
“Ivan Provorov was allowed to play in a game for the Philadelphia Flyers - the organization that was the first to say that you will be removed from the arena if you utter a homophobic slur - after refusing to wear a Pride logo for warm ups. What an absolute disgrace,” stated SB Nation hockey editor Steph Driver.
These were the less-unhinged responses.
NHL Network senior reporter E.J. Hradek said the Flyers defenseman should be deported back to Russia and fight in Ukraine instead of playing hockey. “If this is that much of a problem for him to maybe assimilate into his group of teammates and in the community and here in this country; that’s okay,” Hradek said. “Listen you can feel any way you want, but the beauty is, if it bothers you that much, there’s always a chance to leave.”
An equally jingoistic and unhinged response was delivered by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes. He said Provorov’s wardrobe refusal was “homophobia at its most extreme.”
Provorov refused to warm up Tuesday night against Anaheim because he does not support the right of LGBTQ+ people to even exist. He cites his devotion to the Russian Orthodox Church; in his eyes, their life is a sin. About that: Patriarch Kirill, the church’s leader in Russia and reportedly a former KGB agent, in May justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because Ukraine allows Gay Pride parades, and if Russia and other homophobic states do not oppress LGBTQ+ persons, “then human civilization will end there.”
The sports columnist piled on the Russophobia throughout the piece. He concluded that not wearing a Pride jersey was equivalent to a U.S. national team player kneeling for the national anthem. Both, according to Hayes, are worthy of being benched. A part of being a true patriot is apparently wearing a Pride jersey.
Twenty years ago, “love it or leave it” meant supporting the Iraq war. Now it means publicly supporting “gay rights.” What a dramatic change for American patriotism.
This is not the first time a controversy like this has erupted in the sports world. Last year, five Tampa Bay Rays players refused to wear LGBT emblems for the MLB’s team Pride Night. Like Provorov, those players cited their faith for why they didn’t want to wear the gay badge. They also said they “respect” everyone and don’t mean to offend by not participating in Pride Night. The media still eviscerated them. The New York Times concluded the MLB must do more to ensure every single player bends the knee for Pride. It’s not good enough that the majority of players wear gay badges–every player must do so.
The Provorov controversy illustrates the current state of America’s culture war. Gay marriage was still illegal in California 10 years ago. Now every hockey player has to publicly declare their fealty to gay rights. In the not-so-distant past, the controversy would be a pro athlete using his platform to promote gay marriage rather not wearing a rainbow badge. Former NFL kicker Chris Kluwe said the Minnesota Vikings cut him in the early 2010s because of his pro-gay activism. While that was a dubious claim from a mediocre kicker and pro-gay athletes never faced the backlash Provorov experienced, it does speak to the dramatic changes in American life. It was once rare for a player to even speak about the issue off-the-field. Now every player must demonstrate their support on the field.
Showing support for the LGBT cause demonstrates you’re a morally upstanding person in modern America. Provorov’s teammate, Scott Laughton, made that clear for why he was so eager to champion the team’s Pride Night. He does it because he “just wants to be a good person.” In America’s present moral dynamic, Laughton is a hero for working with “non-binary” kids; Provorov is a villain for staying true to his faith. If you want to be seen as a good person in our society, you better put on the Pride jersey.
There’s also a strong anti-Russian element in this story. As Hradek and Hayes exhibit, many of those outraged at Provorov really hate Russians. The Ukraine war has made many Americans see the Slavic people as inherently evil. If Provorov was not Russian, there would be a little less outrage. No one discussed deporting the Rays players who didn’t wear the Pride emblem.
Your humble author criticizes the NFL a lot, but in defense of America’s most popular sport, you probably won’t see pro football teams make their players wear Pride jerseys. The NFL, as seen in the response to Damar Hamlin’s injury, has more players willing to publicly express their faith than other leagues. Additionally, unlike the NHL, it’s a majority black league. Teams do not want the awkwardness of having to force black players to wear Pride gear. Many players would refuse. The media would be far less hostile to these players simply because of their race. Black players are given a lot more leeway to engage in controversial behavior. If a white NBA player had promoted an “anti-Semitic” documentary, he would’ve never played again. But Kyrie Irving was only benched for a few games.
The NFL could still follow the NHL and MLB’s example of requiring players to declare their allegiance to LGBT, but it’s not guaranteed.
This story speaks to how little cultural power the Right wields in America. The Flyers have zero concern with alienating conservative fans with a Pride Night. Teams in solid red states, such as the Nashville Predators, also host Pride Nights. They don’t need to worry about losing fans with these ideas. They would’ve maybe lost fans 10 years ago, but not anymore. Conservative consumers don’t require any appeasement to keep them loyal.
Conservatives did hurt the NFL by tuning out over the anthem protests a few years ago. But the league only got woker and conservative fans eventually returned. As my Twitter mentions can attest, conservatives are more outraged over boycott suggestions than wokeness on-the-field. “Get woke, go broke” is a meme divorced from reality. Corporations can be woke as they want and still retain conservative consumers. The NFL’s high ratings is all the proof you need.
Despite claims the Silent Majority is getting fed up with this crap, most Americans simply don’t care about it. They may find Pride Night at a hockey game a little weird, but it’s not gonna make them throw out their Flyers jerseys. Some of them may be bothered by the backlash against Provorov, some may feel offended the Russian didn’t join his team in celebrating gay identity. But they simply don’t care that much about it. The gay issue is settled for them. Even conservative pundits and Republican politicians no longer oppose gay marriage. They’ve moved on to solely focusing on transgender matters. In a sign of how much conservatives have changed, they’ve even embraced groups like Gays Against Groomers. Pride Night no longer offends them like it would have in the Obama era.
Those who are offended are not part of the American majority. They’re a minority, and no sports league cares about them. Many on the American Right have appeared to accept this. No longer do conservatives want to make these leagues pay the price. They simply want to watch the game–and they’ll still watch the game if the players sport BLM decals or gay badges.
Tbh I get annoyed by these players hiding behind their religion whenever they don’t wanna wear gay stuff. I understand why they do it, they’re less likely to get cancelled
But I wish someone would just tell the truth - normal, straight people have no reason to celebrate abnormal, gay pride
Scott, I’m getting really tired of seeing right wingers overreacting to anything Covid vaccine related and making that their number 1 identity issue.
In hindsight, I probably would not have gotten the Covid vaccine had my job not required me to do so but I really don’t see it as that big of a deal. I also have noticed that right wingers being anti vaccine and not simply anti mandate has been alienating college educated people.
Am I out of touch, or do you think some of the vaccine rhetoric from the right has been discrediting a lot of our ideas to more mainstream audiences?