The NHL and NHLPA have partnered with the You Can Play advocacy organisation to ensure safety and inclusion for all who participate in sports, including LGBTQ athletes, coaches and fans. The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted their first ever You Can Play night on 7 February 2017 at PPG Paints Arena. Players wore Pride Tape on their sticks for warmup, including the visiting Calgary Flames, and some of the sticks were signed and put up for auction.
To support and encourage the inclusion of LGBTQ people in the game, group tickets were discounted for the LGBTQ community, and Penguins players and corporate sponsors were donating tickets for LGBTQ youths.[1]
Player Contributions[]
Evgeni Malkin, who did not play because of injury, donated his charity suit to the Local High School Gay-Straight Alliances.[2] Chris Kunitz was named the Penguins' You Can Play ambassador prior to the game[3], and Matt Murray tweeted a picture of himself with his goalie stick taped in Pride Tape. He captioned the image: Hockey is for everyone.
The Sidney Crosby Non-troversy[]
Sidney Crosby gained the ire of hockey twitter and hockey tumblr when social media posts started circulating that he was one of three Penguins players who didn't use the Pride Tape on their sticks (the other two being Kris Letang and Justin Shultz). Fans were expressing their disappointment and accusing Crosby of not being an ally to the LGBTQ community when he couldn't even manage a bare minimum of effort (using the Pride Tape). However, Crosby did use the tape, although it was taped around the grip of his stick instead of the stick blade. He, along with Kris Letang and Justin Shultz, were one of the players to sign the stick after and put it up for auction, with proceeds benefitting You Can Play.[4]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/pens-you-can-play-night/c-286504748
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/deltafoundation/photos/pb.49033192650.-2207520000.1486639389./10154145874552651/?type=3&theater
- ↑ http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2017/02/06/Chris-Kunitz-you-can-play-lgbtq-pittsburgh-penguins-gay-nhl/stories/201702060157
- ↑ http://auctions.nhl.com/iSynApp/allAuction.action?sid=1100803&rc=20&sort=timeleft_asc&selectedCatId=11865&&pgcust1=penguins&pgcust2=team&pgcust3=&pgmode1=profilepage&pgmode2=&qMode=open&qt[0].type=openbrac&qt[1].type=fieldmatch&qt[1].name=panname_profileName_s&qt[1].value1=team&qt[2].type=operand&qt[3].type=fieldmatch&qt[3].name=panname_teamName_s&qt[3].value1=penguins&qt[4].type=closebrac