Blackhawks Won’t Wear Pride-Themed Jerseys Citing Concerns For Russian Players: Report

AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File

The Chicago Blackhawks will reportedly not wear pride-themed jerseys against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, citing safety for their Russian-born players.

In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning what he termed “LBGTQ propaganda,” which makes it illegal for Russian citizens to promote information about homosexuality online, in films, books, or advertising, or in public.

On Wednesday evening, Ben Hope of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Blackhawks will not wear the pride jerseys in warmups before the start of their game. The organization scheduled Pride Night to take place at the United Center in Chicago, where they play their home games.

Hope wrote:

Conversations with security officials about the uncertain implications of a new Russian law banning “gay propaganda” prompted the Hawks to make an organizational decision to scrap the Pride jersey plans this year, per sources.

He added that Chicago has three players on the team with ties to Russia. Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev is a native of Russia, while Goalie Anton Khudobin, who is from Kazakhstan, and Swiss-born forward Philip Kurashev both have ties to the country, as well as family currently living in Russia.

According to Hope, a source told him that the Blackhawks’ front office decided not to wear the warmup jerseys.

Philadelphia Flyers Russian defenseman Ivan Provorov made headlines when he decided to sit out the team’s warmup in January after he refused to wear the Pride Night jersey.

“I respect everybody, and I respect everybody’s choices,” Provorov said. “My choice is to stay true to myself and to my religion. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Flyers head coach John Tortorella explained that his defenseman missed warmups for personal reasons in a post-game press conference.

“With Provy, he’s being true to himself and to his religion,” Tortorella said. “This has to do with belief and his religion. It’s one thing I respect about Provy. He’s always true to himself. That’s where we’re at with that.”

The Flyers’ head coach was asked if he thought about benching Provorov for missing the warmups, to which he answered, “no.”

NHL Network’s EJ Hradek slammed the defenseman for missing the warmup and thinks he should fight in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Go back to where you feel more comfortable,” Hradek said. “I understand there’s a conflict of sorts going on over there; maybe get involved.”