Hockey is for everyone; or, at least, it should be. The National Hockey League’s equality and inclusivity campaign sure has an idealistic name, if nothing else, and that aim is certainly something to which we — as hockey fans and human beings in general — should all aspire. Unfortunately, we’ve got a long way to go as a society and a sport subculture, both in the stands and on the ice, as seen at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Pride Night on Tuesday.
I’m realizing this is my first post so I should mention I’ve been a proud member of Bolts Nation pretty much since its inception and I’ve had season tickets for the past seven seasons. It’s a big commitment but hockey’s always been my No. 1 love in sports. Sadly, not all love is acceptable to some fans. As a season ticket holder, I’ve seen more than one Pride Night and each has provided me with hope for the future and a sad reminder that, while we might be on the right path, we’ve only just started the journey.
A friend and fellow season ticket member took his wife to the game the other day and had the displeasure of hearing a bigot sitting behind them voice his displeasure — complete with homophobic slurs — when same sex couples appeared on the Kiss Cam. As he tells it, multiple people sitting around them tried to shush the man or otherwise get him to keep his hatred to himself, even the man’s own wife, who was apparently embarrassed. Maybe you should stay home on Pride Night, dude.
His sentiments aren’t exactly a fresh take, of course. “Why do you have to shove this in our faces?” reads the general sentiment from social media detractors and hockey fans who don’t want Pride Night to be a thing. Or the tone-deaf queries asking when the Lightning will celebrate Straight Night. Let’s get a few things cleared up. First, no one is shoving anything in anyone’s faces. If you like and follow the Lightning on Facebook, seeing the Pride Night announcement and photo change isn’t anything new. Also, this isn’t meant for you or aimed at you; the world is a lot bigger than your life and experience.
As far as Straight Night goes, let me know when being heterosexual has ever been frowned up or caused you to feel marginalized. Tell me about all the times you were bullied and called a “hetero,” how often you’ve been told you’re going to hell for loving someone of the opposite sex and all the things you’ve been unable to do because you’re not gay. Or maybe you should shut up from your position of privilege and keep your whataboutisms and “All Lives Matter” equivalence to yourself.
Look, I abhor virtue signaling, but I genuinely believe initiatives like Hockey is For Everyone and You Can Play are important. If they help even one person feel more comfortable in life and in hockey, it’s worth whatever discomfort or annoyance it causes the privileged and bigoted. For those who feel differently: vote with your wallet; don’t go to games if you don’t support the ideals and morals of the Tampa Bay Lightning as a team and the NHL as an organization. That’s your right and your prerogative. And don’t think for a moment these campaigns are meant to attract socially progressive fans to the game; they’re not money-making ventures and chances are they’ll lose more fans like you than they’ll gain to replace you.
The idea is not to change the culture among adults who pay to go see NHL games; it’s about changing the culture for kids who play the game. Hockey has systemic issues of homophobia and racism that are reinforced within all levels of the game. By demonstrating now on the elite level that hatred has no place in hockey and that the sport is for everyone, future generations of kids just might make that ideal a reality and erase bigotry. It’s a lofty, top-down perspective that aims to reinforce ideals of equality and inclusivity and if you generally have a problem with those concepts and don’t want people who aren’t like you to be comfortable being themselves, maybe you should worry about what’s going on in your heart and your head instead of expressing your disgust with seeing two men kiss on the jumbotron.
After all, hockey is for everyone.