Coyotes to host Pride Night after players allowed to use rainbow-colored tape
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5/AP) — The Arizona Coyotes are hosting Pride Night at Mullett Arena on Friday night and players will be allowed to use rainbow-colored stick tape to show their support for the LGTBQ community. The league, players’ union and a committee on inclusion agreed to give players the option to represent social causes with stick tape during warmups, practices and games. The move announced Tuesday rescinds a ban on rainbow-colored Pride tape for on-ice activities that were provided to teams earlier this fall as guidance for theme nights.
Pride nights became a hot-button issue in hockey after six players chose not to participate in pregame warmups last season when their team wore rainbow-themed jerseys. Teams this season are not allowed to wear any kind of theme jerseys, including military appreciation and Hockey Fights Cancer, for warmups.
The tape ban drew criticism from players around the league, longtime executive Brian Burke and others. Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton told reporters he’d probably use it anyway, and Arizona’s Travis Dermott defied the ban over the weekend by putting rainbow-colored tape on his stick for a game. Dermott has been outspoken about encouraging inclusion within the hockey community. He said the reaction to him using the rainbow tape has been better than he could have ever expected. “I don’t mean to say, I don’t think the war is over by any means. I still think we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I think just being able to show a little bit of support while we’re out there on the big screen, there’s God knows how many people watching our game, so I think that’s really important,” he said on Thursday.
The Coyotes take on the Los Angeles Kings at 7 p.m. for Pride Night. Fans can buy a special ticket package that includes a Coyotes pride t-shirt. For more information, click/tap here.
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