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The NHL’s Minnesota Wild were hounded by critics Tuesday night following a last-minute decision to ditch their Pride-themed jerseys for warm-ups.
After promoting their special warm-up jerseys for their Pride Night matchup against the Calgary Flames, Wild players appeared on the ice Tuesday without the jerseys and set off a number of people who called the retraction “homophobic.”
The decision to not wear the rainbow-colored jerseys was slammed as dismissive of the gay community, and Wild players were called bigots for their move.
A number of players still opted to wear the rainbow tape on their hockey sticks during the warm-up.
Game-worn Pride jerseys were expected to be signed and auctioned after the game.
Pride Night Retraction Leaves People ‘Out’raged
The Wild released a statement following a wave of backlash.
Minnesota’s response wasn’t much of an apology as much as it was a reminder that the organization was celebrating Pride Night in different ways.
Needless to say, Minnesota was still bashed for the move.
The team posted,
“The Minnesota Wild organization is proud to continue our support of the LGBTQIA+ community by hosting our second annual Pride Night tonight, which we are celebrating in many ways.
“It is important to host nights like this to show all players, fans, and the LGBTQIA+ community that hockey is for everyone. We will continue to utilize our platform to strengthen our community and create a greater State of Hockey.”
Calgary defeated Minnesota, 1-0.
Minnesota’s move simultaneously extended the NHL’s streak in the last month of pissing off members of the LGBT community.
In late January the New York Rangers caught flak for also advertising Pride Night jerseys only to ditch them on game night. The NHL media also blew a fuse over Philadelphia Flyers’ Ivan Provorov refusal to wear a Pride jersey during warm-ups for a game in January.
The online backlash was Wild. Some called for Minnesota players that refused to wear the jerseys to be publicly shamed.
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