Big-box sports media outlets and announcers have hammered Philadelphia Flyers defensemen Ivan Provorov for his refusal to participate in the NHL team’s “Pride Night” on Jan. 17. Provorov is a native of Russia and cited his Russian Orthodox Christian faith as reason for not publicly endorsing something he personally believes is wrong. “I respect everybody. I respect everybody’s choices,” he said after the game. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.”
No Room at the Rink For Christians?
It’s a choice many notable voices in the NHL orbit believe he should not have. “But Provorov obviously does not respect ‘everyone,’” Pierre LeBrun, a well-known “Hockey Insider” sportscaster for Canadian network TSN, which is partially owned by ESPN, tweeted. “If he did respect everyone, he would have taken part in warm-up and worn the Pride Night jersey. Don’t hide behind religion.”
E.J. Hradek is a senior reporter for the NHL Network. His response was even more repulsive. “If it bothers you that much, there’s always the chance to leave, go back where you feel more comfortable. I understand there’s a conflict of sorts going on over there, maybe get involved.” Hradek, in a discussion aired on the league’s cable television network, called for Provorov to face losing his life on a battlefield in Ukraine because he had the temerity to politely espouse personal beliefs held by tens of millions of American Christians.
If only the ugliness stopped there.
NHL Pride: Nonbinary Teens and Little Trans Kids
(Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
The far more disturbing part of the Provorov saga is just what the NHL is supporting with its various “Pride” celebrations. The event Provorov declined to be a part of began with a bang. Literally. “To kick off the night, Trin Stephens, a local Ed Snider Youth Hockey and Education student-athlete, will bang the ceremonial drum,” a press release from the club read.
Trin Stephens is “a 13-year-old nonbinary player” who the team states has been drawn to hockey due to a special partnership two Flyers players have with several local “LGBTQ+” groups, a post on the Flyers’ website relates.
Is it going too far to say the Flyers are allying themselves with extreme leftist activists? Well, that’s kind of hard to deny when one of the groups to which the team gives money explicitly labels itself a “radical social justice” organization. This would be Galaei, which also declares on its website that it “fights for access, opportunity, sexual empowerment, and economic justice while fighting systemic oppression, structural racism, discrimination, and white supremacy.”
In June 2022, the Flyers marked Pride Month by raising money for Galaei and other groups via a donation-matching offer “up to $10,000.” On the same evening that Provorov made his stand, the NHL’s Washington Capitals also unleashed the rainbow flags. “Pride Night Auction to Benefit SMYAL,” a subheading on the team’s press release boasted.
The SMYAL Twitter account declares that it is the “premier Washington, DC area organization solely dedicated to supporting queer & trans youth ages 6-24.” You read that first number right. A page on the group’s website is titled “Little SMYALs.”
“Little SMYALs is a group designed for LGBTQ youth ages 6-12 to find a safe(r) space to hang out and meet new people, access resources, and gain support,” the description reads. “During programs, we play games, read books, make arts and crafts, learn about the LGBTQ community and its history, and celebrate being wonderfully, uniquely ourselves!”
This is what the Washington Capitals support. From a 2020 team post on its charity efforts:
“[Monumental Sports & Entertainment] Foundation hosted a Pride Auction in June that raised $14,645 for SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders), a local nonprofit that supports and empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region.”
Monumental Sports & Entertainment is the umbrella company that owns the Capitals and NBA Washington Wizards. It was founded by Ted Leonsis, who made his fortune at AOL in the early days of the Internet. His Wizards celebrated their 2022 Pride Night by having a drag queen perform a burlesque show at halftime of their game against the Atlanta Hawks. The NHL is also a major backer of The Trevor Project, a nationally renowned LGBTQ youth organization. In April 2022, The Washington Free Beacon reported on what can only be described as a highly unethical relationship between the organization and Big Pharma:
“In statements commemorating ‘Transgender Day of Visibility,’ the White House and Department of Health and Human Services cited research from the Trevor Project to support the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex-reassignment procedures in children seeking to change genders. Two of the Trevor Project’s donors, AbbVie and Allergan, make drugs and medical products used in the medical gender transition process. The charitable foundations of both companies gave at least $50,000 to the Trevor Project, according to a review of tax documents and the Trevor Project’s website. The Trevor Project did not disclose the funding in its research.”
The NHL is listed as a “Bronze Tier” donor ($25,000+) on the Trevor Project website. The NFL resides two levels higher. Its iconic shield logo is firmly planted on the “Gold Tier,” honoring those who give $100,000 and more.
Ivan Provorov is to be commended for refusing to join in on activities that harm children, even as it put his employment at potential risk. The bigger question for those who sympathize with him yet love their pro sports is a simple one. At what point does it become too much for you?
