New York Rangers slammed for bailing on Pride Night jerseys and sticks: ‘It’s a slap in the face’

It wasn’t a proud moment for the New York Rangers, whose botched Pride Night promotion ended up being ripped as “a slap in the face” to the LGBT community.

The Rangers had promised to wear Pride-themed jerseys and use rainbow-colored stick tape during warm-ups before Friday’s game against the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

But those promises didn’t come to pass — no Rangers wore Pride gear, or used any rainbow-colored equipment. Instead, they wore regular game jerseys and used normal stick tape.

Pride promotions are common in the NHL. Friday was the Rangers’ seventh Pride Night, and all players wore Pride-themed jerseys at least in 2020, 2021 and 2022. After the games, the gear was auctioned off for charity.

Why the team didn’t use such gear on Friday was not clear. The Rangers did not directly address the matter Saturday in a statement. The NHL did not immediately return a request for comment.

“If the Rangers are saying they’re going to be celebrating Pride Night, everybody needs to, for lack of a better term, ‘come out’ and celebrate,” said David Kilmnick, president of the Queens-based LGBT Network.

“To give the OK to these hockey players to be homophobic is not celebrating pride. It’s the opposite of it.”

“It’s a slap in the face to the LGBT community to have players not celebrate Pride Night,” Kilmnick told the Daily News. “To me, this would be equivalent to people not wearing Jackie Robinson’s number when everyone does that in MLB [on Jackie Robinson Day].”

The Rangers’ other in-arena Pride Night festivities went on as planned Friday night, including the ceremonial puck drop and a Pride-themed fanny pack giveaway. The Rangers defeated Las Vegas 4-1.

“Our organization respects the LGBTQ+ community and we are proud to bring attention to important local community organizations as part of another great Pride Night,” the Rangers said. “In keeping with our organization’s core values, we support everyone’s individual right to respectfully express their beliefs.”

NYC Pride, which helped the Rangers organize Pride Night, told ESPN the players’ actions were “a major disappointment to the LGBTQ+ community in New York and beyond.”

Last week, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov also refused to participate in his team’s Pride Night. He skipped the team’s warm-ups when they donned Pride-themed jerseys. Provorov cited his religious beliefs, and the team stood by him.

Back in June in MLB, several Tampa Bay Rays players refused to wear Pride-themed caps on their team’s Pride Night.

“These Pride Nights should not be a money grab,” said Kilmnick, whose organization works with the Islanders for their event. “They should be about making arenas safe for the LGBT community.”