Ivan Provorov, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers, is getting heat from the far-left for refusing to wear a Pride Night jersey and use hockey sticks wrapped with rainbow tape during a Tuesday night game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Provorov, a Russian Orthodox Christian, cited his faith for his decision.
“I respect everybody. I respect everybody’s choices,” he told reporters after the game. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.”
“I respect everybody and I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.”
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 18, 2023
Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov on refusing to wear a rainbow jersey for warm ups during “Pride Night” due to his Russian Orthodox faith.
pic.twitter.com/wCUl8slmRB
Commenting on the matter, the team reaffirmed its commitment to “inclusivity” and expressed its support for the gay community.
“Many of our players are active in their support of local LGBTQ+ organizations, and we were proud to host our annual Pride Night again this year,” the statement added. “The Flyers will continue to be strong advocates for inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community.”
In a postgame press conference, Flyers coach John Tortorella defended him.
"I think the organization has sent out a release regarding the beliefs that we have," he said. "It was really a great night. With Provy, he is being true to himself and to his religion. This has to do with his beliefs and his religion. That is one thing I respect about Provy, he is always true to himself, so that’s where we’re at with that."
He said he didn't think it would be fair to bench Provorov for boycotting the pride gear.
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"I just think it’s unfair. I know you are probably going to talk to Provy," he said. "I’m not going to spend a lot of time on it. I think it was a great night, and I’m not going to get too deep into the conversation."
In addition to the social media mob attacking Provorov, Canadian journalist Sid Seixeiro lost it on air, going on a tirade against religious people and demanding the NHL fine the Flyers $1 million over the "incident."
“Nothing scares me more than any human being who says ‘I’m not doing this because of my religious beliefs’ because when you look at people’s lives who normally say that publically you’d throw up at what you saw,” Seixeiro said. “I’ve seen that a million times in a lot of different ways, so don’t give me that…don’t feed me the religious beliefs line.”
UPDATE: Journalists are now crying on air bc Provorov wouldn’t wear a Pride jersey pic.twitter.com/GFfCYQsRYb
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January 18, 2023
But Provorov obviously does not respect “everyone”. If he did respect everyone, he would have taken part in warm-up and worn the Pride Night jersey. Don’t hide behind religion. https://t.co/Qk6dTgAnmP
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 18, 2023
1. Ivan Provorov had the right to refuse to participate in the Pride Night activities in Philadelphia.
— Gord Miller 🌻 (@GMillerTSN) January 18, 2023
2. The Flyers should have responded by not allowing him to play in the game.
3. Freedom of expression doesn’t give you freedom from the consequences of your words or actions. https://t.co/9fdffAQk1N
Of course, Ivan Provorov is more than happy to play pregame dress-up when it does align with his belief system. pic.twitter.com/rOG0uoCsf4
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) January 18, 2023
His position was praised by conservatives on social media, however.
Ivan Provorov has principles. The NHL does not.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 18, 2023
God bless Ivan Provorov!
God bless Orthodox Christian #IvanProvorov, who cares more about honoring the living God than worshiping the idols of this decadent age. Axios! https://t.co/etsl75IxAo
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) January 18, 2023
Good for Provorov. https://t.co/yqiyLmuBuC
— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) January 18, 2023
Provorov's boycott comes after the NHL not only hosted a tournament for transgender and nonbinary players recently, but also declared on Twitter, “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Nonbinary identity is real."
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