The two most talented players of philadelphia Flayers received their suspensions due to a misunderstanding and self-Intreast
Ivan Provorov refused to participate in a pregame warmup on Tuesday, where all of his teammates wore Pride-themed jerseys to mark the organization’s celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. Those who mounted social media soapboxes to demand that the Flyers or NHL suspend or fine Provorov appear to believe that tolerance and inclusion mean excluding those who do not share their beliefs and only allowing those who do.
These are folks who seem to think that businesses should reprimand workers for not supporting a social justice movement the corporation supports—in addition to having the right to do so.
If a team owner insisted that all players don Right to Life warm-up jerseys, would they still have the same beliefs?
What if, before the Rangers-Flyers 2008–09 season opener, Philadelphia owner “Mr. Snider” had invited former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to drop the ceremonial first puck? What if Palin’s 2008 artwork served as the team’s logo?
Despite the Ivan Provorov incident, Gary Bettman supports the NHL’s diversity initiative.
A person’s neighbor’s opposing political movement is frequently that person’s social cause. Regardless of whether you, I, or the NHL teams think these causes are morally correct, they do not have the authority to force players to participate in charitable causes. The door to the locker room is not where the right to liberty ends.
Isn’t it the justification put forth by a large number of people demanding Provorov’s exile in order to defend Colin Kaepernick’s freedom to kneel during the playing of the national anthem?
The Philadelphia defenseman is free to decide for himself which causes he wants to support and which he does not, thanks to the same principle that permits others to berate Provorov on social media.
The extremists who said that Provorov might want to return to Russia if he does not support the LGBTQ+ community reminded me of the 1960s Vietnam protesters who encouraged people to “love it or leave it.”
The NHL and the Flyers handled this one well. Provorov decided what to do. Whether or not it was motivated by faith is irrelevant. Nobody has to approve of it. Not even that anyone has to honor it.
That’s a component of our freedom. That includes Provorov as well. You should exercise caution when making wishes if you want to get rid of them. Exercise extreme caution.
The incident began with a retweet of Marty Biron’s tweet, including a photo of himself and Ryan Miller, who was scheduled to be honored with a No. 30 jersey retirement and a lift to the top of the Buffalo building on Friday as part of the Sabres Hall of Fame induction.
As near to a Hall of Fame goalie as I could be without actually being one, I continued. By Miller, I do not mean Biron.
In response, Biron, whom I had the pleasure of covering from 2009 to the beginning of the 2012 Rangers season, suggested that he might be able to make the Hall, if only as a backup.
Here is the inaugural class of Slap Shots’ Hall of Fame backup goalies. For Biron, there’s always next year.
