NHL rescinds ban of Pride Tape use for players on sticks
BOSTON -- The NHL has rescinded its ban of Pride Tape usage for players, less than a month after informing teams of the ban.
The NHL had banned the rainbow-colored tape -- used often during warmups on Pride nights in arenas around the league -- after several teams and players received heavy backlash for opting to not participate. That decision faced some vocal pushback from players, which led to the reversal of the decision this week.
League source confirms the ban on Pride Tape for NHL players has been rescinded.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 24, 2023
Can confirm the NHL is rescinding the rule that prevented players from using Pride Tape on ice this season. Expect an official announcement to come shortly.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 24, 2023
One player to speak out about the decision was Bruins captain Brad Marchand.
"To be pushed to do something you don't want to do, or to be banned from something you do believe in, there's gotta be a line where we can all have our beliefs and support each other and be OK and not have tension between the sides," Marchand said prior to the Bruins' season opener. "It's just unfortunate we can't find common ground right now. It would be nice, like with the certain nights that we have across the league, it's all to support different things and just [show] support for people. And that's OK. So it's tough when you can't win either way. I understand both sides of it. It's just unfortunate that we can't all get along on some of these topics. But that's the way that it is these days."
Arizona defenseman Travis Dermott had Pride Tape on his stick when playing in a game last weekend.
After the news broke on Tuesday, the Pride Tape social media account reacted.
"We are so very grateful to everyone who believes hockey should be a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space for all," the post on X (formerly Twitter) stated. "We are extremely happy that NHL players will now have the option to voluntarily represent important social causes with their stick tape throughout [the] season."
The NHL released a statement after reporters broke the news: "After consultation with the NHL Players' Association and the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, Players will now have the option to voluntarily represent social causes with their stick tape throughout the season."