Gary Bettman and the NHL Involved in Serious Controversy

Last year, warm-up jerseys in support of the LGBTQ+ community during "Pride Nights" caused a lot of controversy. Recall that several players, citing religious and ideological differences, had refused to wear the jersey during the warm-up to promote the NHL's "Hockey is for Everyone" program. The league then decided to discontinue the pre-game multicolored jerseys to eliminate distractions.

This season, players began using the multicolored ribbon on their sticks, but the league, in its "great openness," sent a communication to all owners and general managers prohibiting the ribbon and any other affiliation, regardless of the cause.

CH player Jordan Harris expressed surprise at this directive: "I can't say why this decision would be taken. But I know that we, in this locker room, in this organization, are super inclusive. We just want everyone to feel welcome to play hockey. Or to watch it, because not everyone plays!" - Jordan Harris

Bill Daly, the NHL's deputy commissioner, informed the media that the use of the multicolored ribbon would end. In a statement provided to the Daily Faceoff, he clarified that although this restriction is in place, players can still express their commitment to different causes in other ways: "We simply do not want to put other players in an uncomfortable position because they do not wish to join." - Bill Daly

Recently, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson wanted to incorporate the cancer fight ribbon into the design of his helmet. Again, Gary Bettman and his lieutenants refused.

Thompson's agent, the renowned Allan Walsh, made a public statement to denounce the league's actions: "An NHL goaltender wanted to add a cancer ribbon to his helmet design as part of the NHL's Cancer Awareness Month. The League reportedly told him that the ribbon is banned and refused to allow it. Where is the common sense?" - Allan Walsh

With rainbow jerseys discarded, the multicolored ribbon banned on sticks to avoid offending certain players and simple-minded individuals, and cancer ribbons prohibited, the NHL still has not made public the findings of the investigation into the sordid story of Team Canada Junior 2018.