- The NHL said "cause-based" jerseys will be banned from the ice next season.
- Commissioner Gary Bettman said the decision was made as the jerseys were becoming a "distraction."
- Some players refused to wear Pride jerseys this season due to their religious beliefs.
NHL players will be banned from wearing Pride jerseys on the ice from next season as they've become a "distraction" from the game, an NHL executive said.
Commissioner Gary Bettman told Sportsnet on Thursday that at a recent NHL governors' meeting, he suggested players no longer wear warm-up jerseys that visibly supported the LGBTQ+ community. He said he believed that the jerseys were taking focus away from the game.
"It's become a distraction and taking away from the fact that all of our clubs in some form or another host nights in honor of various groups or causes," Bettman said.
The announcement came during Pride Month, held every June.
"In the final analysis, all of the efforts and emphasis on the importance of these various causes have been undermined by the distraction in terms of which teams, which players, this way we're keeping the focus on the game," Bettman added.
As CBC reports, the NHL announced the ban on "cause-based" jerseys next season after a handful of players began objecting to wearing Pride-themed attire in pregame warm-ups earlier this year.
Players including Eric and Marc Staal, James Reimer and Ivan Provorov said doing so at odds with their religious beliefs, The Associated Press reported.
"We carry no judgment on how people choose to live their lives, and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey," the Staal brothers told the news agency. "Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey, it goes against our Christian beliefs."
After boycotting pregame warm ups in March, Reimer – goaltender for the San Jose Sharks – said he was "choosing not to endorse something that is counter" to his personal convictions, "which are based on the Bible," The AP reported.
"I strongly believe that every person has value and worth and the LGBTQ+ community, like all others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey," he added.
Following the NHL's announcement, hockey commentator Gord Miller highlighted that the decision also affected other causes and groups.
"NHL teams will not wear specialty warm-up jerseys next year, which means that in addition to the LGBTQ+ community, people with cancer, members of the military and their families, black and indigenous people will be among those who will no longer be visibly recognized before games," Miller tweeted on Friday.
You Can Play, an organization advocating for LGBTQ+ safety and inclusion in sports, said it was "concerned and disappointed" by the NHL's decision in a statement posted on Twitter.
"Today's decision means that the over 95% of players who chose to wear a Pride jersey to support the community will now not get an opportunity to do so," it added.
Akim Aliu, a former Calgary Flames player, called the move "absolutely shameful" in a tweet.
—Akim Aliu (@Dreamer_Aliu78) June 22, 2023
The decision also comes as Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said on June 15 that teams had been advised to stop putting Pride colors and logos on players' uniform, The Washington Post's Chelsea Janes reported.
"We have told teams, in terms of actual uniforms, hats, bases that we don't think putting logos on them is a good idea just because of the desire to protect players," Manfred said.