Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Two and Out

PETERS: Blazers pride night a great step forward for inclusion

Mar 24, 2023 | 12:01 PM

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED after the Kamloops Blazers hosted a pride night on Wednesday: nothing. Well, nothing regressive and toxic, as far as we can tell.

The Blazers wore special pride-themed sweaters that were auctioned off after the game to benefit the Interior Community Services Safe Spaces program.

The lack of vocal opposition to the event was refreshing. No one even grumbled on CFJC‘s Facebook page. That feels like a first.

Pride nights have, unfortunately, become controversial at the NHL level.

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Players like Ivan Provorov and James Reimer have refused to participate — inasmuch as wearing a jersey for a 15-minute warmup is participating — citing their own religious beliefs.

Teams including the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks have planned, and then cancelled, pride nights, hiding behind flimsy justifications in doing so.

People are, of course, free to believe what they like.

Communicating that certain people are not welcome in hockey, though, is a wide gulf away from a personal belief.

According to a Gallup poll released last year, 7.1 per cent of Americans identify as something other than heterosexual. One can assume the proportion is similar in Canada.

That works out to nearly 400 people in attendance at Sandman Centre for Wednesday’s game against Seattle.

Put another way, that’s 90 to 100 of the 1,300-or-so registered players within the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association.

We can all agree that hockey culture hasn’t historically been welcoming to people who are different in any way. In fact, it doesn’t encourage any individual expression at all.

Showing those young players a shift in hockey culture toward inclusion is a needed step forward for a national institution.

Coincidentally, the Blazers opponent on Wednesday was Seattle, the team with the only openly gay player under NHL contract.

The key word there is “openly.” It would be foolish to think Luke Prokop is the only non-heterosexual player in hockey.

That he is the only one who has come out speaks, in part, to how unwelcoming a place hockey is.

That’s why pride nights are still a crucial move toward more equitable treatment of participants in a sport that is so integral to our national identity.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.