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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
The NHL sent an updated memo to all teams Thursday clarifying previous guidance about what players and franchises could do this season as it relates to special initiatives such as Pride Night, a league source told ESPN.
A team source told ESPN earlier this week that several NHL clubs sought clarification while also expressing concern with the league’s initial memo, which they considered restrictive. The NHL issued the first memo, titled “Game and Practice-Related Special Initiatives,” late last week.
The update was sent because of “confusion” about the guidance, the league source said. The new, “much clearer” memo explained that restrictions cover on-ice activity and noted that “players should be encouraged to express themselves off the ice,” the team source said. Player participation in club-related messaging is voluntary if permitted.
Players and teams are allowed to “celebrate and support” specialty causes, the league source said. Teams are also allowed to host the groups at games while players have the freedom to wear “whatever they want” as long as it falls within the guidelines of each team’s respective dress code.
The initial memo, obtained by ESPN, explained what is permissible when it comes to events such as Black History Night, Hockey Fights Cancer Night, Military Appreciation Night and Pride Night — the latter being a much-discussed issue during the 2022-23 season.
In late June, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told Sportsnet that teams will no longer wear specialty sweaters during warmups because “it’s become a distraction.” He said teams could still host specialty nights and create and sell sweaters for various charities associated with the causes.
“Players who choose to model them can do that,” Bettman said. “It’s really just the question of what’s on the ice.”
Given Bettman’s statement that players can choose to model sweaters, the initial memo created confusion, according to the team source who spoke to ESPN.
More than eight teams, the source said, raised concerns about part of the memo that stated, “Players shall not be put in the position of having to demonstrate (or where they may be appearing to demonstrate) personal support for any Special Initiatives. A factor that may be considered in this regard includes, for example, whether a Player (or Players) is required to be in close proximity to any groups or individuals visibly or otherwise clearly associated with such Special Initiative(s).”
Teams asked the league about a number of items, such as whether players can wear T-shirts in support of a special initiative inside the practice facility, to media availabilities and to fundraisers.
There was even a question about whether players could hold “I Fight For” placards on Hockey Fights Cancer Night. The league source said the NHL was facing questions about whether coaches could wear poppies on their suit jackets in honor of Remembrance Day or if they could wear green ribbons in honor of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
The intended purpose of the initial memo, according to the league source, was to inform teams that they cannot wear any specialty sweaters during a game, in warmups or at an official practice. The source said the only off-ice restriction facing teams is that they can’t force players to participate in events regarding the specialty causes, because some players might fear retribution or embarrassment if they decide to not take part.
One of the biggest questions facing the NHL entering this season was how the league and its teams would handle specialty nights. The events became contentious after a handful of players refused to wear Pride jerseys last season.
Every NHL team held a Pride or Hockey Is For Everyone Night during 2022-23. But seven players decided to not take part in pregame warmups when their teams donned Pride jerseys.
A few teams also decided that they would not have their players wear specialty sweaters after initially having planned to do so. Eventually, Bettman said in late June that “it would be appropriate for clubs not to change their jerseys in warmups because it’s become a distraction,” and the NHL board of governors agreed.
Source: www.espn.com