Throughout the current NHL season, several players have refused to participate in the league's LGBTQ+ celebrations, including Ivan Provorov, James Reimer, Marc Staal, Eric Staal, and Ilya Lyubushkin. These players have chosen not to wear Pride Night-themed warmup jerseys that promote inclusiveness and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. While it is within their rights to make such a decision, it is clear that their protests are having a significant impact on the league's ability to promote its message of inclusivity. The focus of the narrative shifts from celebrating diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity to perceived bigotry and intolerance, particularly towards the trans community. This is deeply disheartening, and the NHL is reportedly considering discontinuing the celebrations altogether. During his official introduction today as the new NHLPA president, Marty Walsh addressed the issue by commenting: <q> The LGBTQ community shouldn't feel that the NHL hockey players are turning their backs to their community. The super majority of the players wear the jerseys. </q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/1641463529373941761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1641463529373941761%7Ctwgr%5Eb00c96a1e8d3671370fbd0cae53bcfbca0eda8c9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hockeypatrol.com%2FNew-NHLPA-President-Opens-Up-About-Pride-Night-Controversy-222642'> </a></blockquote></div> Gary Bettman also spoke about the matter and stated: <q> This is the first time we've experienced that, and I think it's something that we're going to have to evaluate in the offseason, This is one issue where players, for a variety of reasons, may not feel comfortable wearing the uniform as a form of endorsement, he said. But I think that's become more of a distraction now because the substance of what our teams and we have been doing and stand for is really being pushed to the side for what a handful of players basically have made personal decisions, and you have to respect that as well. </q> The silent protests have become a significant distraction from the NHL's overall message of support, prompting the question of whether the effort is worthwhile. If Pride Night events provide a platform for players and fans to express negative arguments and toxic opinions, then it raises doubts as to whether the NHL should continue to hold such events. Credit: HockeyPatrol