Recently, some NHL teams have cited that wearing pride jerseys is dangerous, due to the fact that Russian players could be arrested. The concern is that if a Russian player is seen wearing a pride jersey, they would be arrested if they ever returned to Russia.
Many fans do not believe this is accurate, mainly citing that teams have no problem with the camo jerseys on US military night. A specific example of this is that Alex Ovechkin wore a camo jersey to support the US military night
Ovechkin, who is Russian wearing a US military jersey, shows the double standard that Russian players can support the US military, but wearing a pride jersey is too dangerous for Russian players. Andrew Berkshire pointed this double standard out, stating that if Ovechkin can wear the camo jersey, the NHL should not let the threat of Russian persecution get in the way of pride jerseys.
Pride Night and pride jerseys have become quite controversial, the NHL believes that hockey should include everyone, it seems that some believe in this message, while others will cite any reason possible to avoid showing support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
