Ethics CasesSport

Cases · NHL · 2016–2023

Rainbow Tape: The NHL's Pride Tape Ban and Its Reversal in 72 Hours

During the 2022-23 season several NHL players declined to wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys, citing religious beliefs, and some teams dropped the jerseys altogether. In June 2023 commissioner Gary Bettman said specialty warmup jerseys had become a 'distraction' and would end. In October a league memo also barred players from using theme-night equipment, including rainbow Pride Tape. Players criticized the ban, and Arizona defenceman Travis Dermott, on a near-minimum contract, used the tape in a game anyway. Less than 72 hours later the league said players could voluntarily use stick tape for social causes. The case asks how a league should handle inclusion campaigns when players disagree, and who should decide.

By Tanner Simkins, editor

Timeline

  1. The NHL partners with Pride Tape.
  2. Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov skips Pride warmups, citing his Russian Orthodox faith.
  3. Other players opt out for religious reasons; some teams drop Pride warmup jerseys, citing Russian anti-gay laws.
  4. Bettman says specialty warmup jerseys have become a distraction and will end.
  5. A league memo bars theme-night jerseys in games, practices and warmups, and equipment including rainbow stick tape.
  6. Coyotes defenceman Travis Dermott uses Pride Tape in Arizona's home opener.
  7. The NHL says players may voluntarily use stick tape for social causes.

The ethical issues

  • Inclusion campaigns versus individual conscience.
  • League control of player expression.
  • Avoiding controversy versus taking a stand.
  • Risk to players from countries with anti-LGBTQ laws.
  • Power of players and unions in league policy.

Stakeholders

StakeholderInterests & obligations
LGBTQ+ players and fansVisible welcome in hockey.
Players with religious objectionsNot being compelled to endorse causes.
Russian playersSafety given laws at home.
Travis DermottActing on his values without harming his career.
NHLUnity, focus on the game and its brand.
NHL Players' AssociationPlayer voice in league rules.
Teams and sponsorsSuccessful theme nights.

The case

Background

Like other leagues, the NHL holds theme nights for causes including Hockey Fights Cancer, Black History and military appreciation, as well as Pride nights [3]. In 2016 it partnered with Pride Tape, a rainbow-coloured stick tape that many players used to show support for the LGBTQ+ community [3]. On Pride nights, teams often wore themed jerseys in pregame warmups.

In January 2023, Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov skipped warmups when the team wore Pride jerseys and used Pride Tape, citing his Russian Orthodox faith. “I respect everybody and respect everybody’s choices,” he said. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion” [2]. Later that season Eric Staal, Marc Staal and James Reimer also sat out Pride warmups for religious reasons [1]. Several teams did not wear Pride warmup jerseys at all, citing new Russian anti-gay laws that might endanger Russian players who appeared to promote LGBTQ+ causes. Others, including Pittsburgh, Nashville and San Jose, went ahead despite having Russian players [1].

The rules and governance

Theme-night uniforms and equipment fall under league policy. The NHL negotiates with the NHL Players’ Association on matters affecting players, and it has a Player Inclusion Coalition [5]. There was no rule requiring players to wear warmup jerseys, which is how individual opt-outs happened.

Decision point: ending the jerseys

In June 2023, after a Board of Governors meeting, commissioner Gary Bettman told Sportsnet he had suggested clubs not change jerseys in warmups “because it’s become a distraction and taking away from the fact that all our clubs, in some form or another, host nights” [1]. “All of the efforts and emphasis on these important various causes have been undermined by the distraction in terms of which teams and which players (are wearing them),” he said. “This way, we can keep it focused on the game. On these specialty nights, we’re going to be focused on the cause” [1]. He said theme nights would continue [1][2].

Decision point: banning the tape

In October 2023, as the season opened, a league memo first reported by ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark went further. Players could not wear specialty jerseys in games, practices or warmups, and their equipment could not reflect a team’s theme night, which included rainbow Pride Tape [3]. Players could still take part in theme celebrations off the ice [3]. Connor McDavid of Edmonton and Morgan Rielly of Toronto were among those who publicly expressed disappointment [4].

Defiance

On Saturday 21 October 2023, Arizona Coyotes defenceman Travis Dermott, 26, of Newmarket, Ontario, used Pride Tape on his stick in the Coyotes’ home opener against the Los Angeles Kings [4]. He was the only player to challenge the rule by action [4]. “I wasn’t happy,” he said of the ban. “Since I’ve been a little kid, I thought it was really important to have people to look up to” [4].

It was a risk. Dermott was on a one-year, two-way contract at close to the league minimum after an injury-hit season with Vancouver. “Not like I’ve really established myself — signed a long-term deal — and because of that was comfortable doing this,” he said. “I had crazy ideas going through my head like, ‘Am I going to get kicked out of the league? Are they going to fine me? Am I going to get suspended?’” [4]. “Important to be that role model that isn’t just doing the right thing when you’re allowed to do the right thing,” he said. “It’s about making waves when something isn’t going the right way” [4].

Aftermath

On 24 October, less than 72 hours after Dermott’s game, the NHL said: “After consultation with the NHL Players’ Association and the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, Players will now have the option to voluntarily represent social causes with their stick tape throughout the season” [4][5]. The statement covered stick tape only; it did not bring back themed warmup jerseys [5].

You Can Play, a group promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport, called the reversal “a win for us all” and thanked the NHLPA and the NHLCA for their leadership [6]. Kristopher Wells, co-founder of Pride Tape, said a “huge debt of gratitude” was owed to Dermott [4]. Luke Prokop, a Nashville Predators prospect and the first openly gay player under an NHL contract, said that when players like Rielly, Tyson Barrie and McDavid spoke up, “you know the league’s going to take notice of that, and maybe that’s why the (ban) was reversed so quickly” [7].

The core dilemma

A league wants to promote inclusion but faces players who object for religious reasons and players who may face danger at home. Should it require, allow, or remove visible symbols of support, and who should decide what players may display?

Competing values

  • Inclusion vs. conscience: visible support for LGBTQ+ people against players’ religious objections [1][2].
  • Uniformity vs. choice: team-wide symbols against voluntary participation [1][5].
  • Avoiding controversy vs. standing for a cause: the league’s “distraction” argument against the message a ban sends [1][4].
  • Player safety vs. visibility: risks under Russian law against the value of public support [1].

Strongest arguments

For the restrictions: team jerseys made individual opt-outs into headlines, distracting from the causes themselves [1]. Equal rules for all theme nights avoid choosing between causes. Players from Russia faced real legal risks [1].

Against the tape ban: stick tape is individual and voluntary, so it does not compel anyone [3][5]. Banning it sent a message of retreat to LGBTQ+ fans and players [4][6][7]. Pride Tape had been a league partner since 2016 [3].

On the reversal: it showed the league listening to players, as Prokop and You Can Play argued [6][7]. Critics could say a league that reverses itself in three days did not think its policy through.

Applying the frameworks

Rights

A rights lens weighs players’ freedom of expression and conscience against a league’s authority over uniforms. Voluntary tape respects both those who want to show support and those who do not [5]. The jersey rule kept a restriction on collective expression.

Utilitarian

A consequentialist would compare the controversy from opt-outs with the backlash from bans [1][4]. It would also count the effect on LGBTQ+ youth, who, Dermott argued, look to players as role models [4].

Virtue

Virtue ethics focuses on Dermott’s choice: moral courage, taken at personal cost and without a secure contract [4]. It also asks what institutional virtue looks like for a league: prudence in avoiding conflict, or courage in standing by its partnerships.

Walk it through: the Simple Decision Model

  1. Identify the problem: theme-night symbols are dividing players and drawing attention away from causes.
  2. Gather the facts: who opted out and why, legal risks, and players’ views [1][2][4].
  3. Identify the stakeholders: LGBTQ+ fans and players, objecting players, Russian players, the union and teams.
  4. Consider the options: require participation, ban symbols, or make them voluntary.
  5. Apply values and frameworks: expression, conscience, inclusion and safety.
  6. Decide and review: consult the union first, and review after a season.

What’s settled and what’s contested

Settled: the league ended specialty warmup jerseys, banned theme tape in October 2023, and restored voluntary tape on 24 October after Dermott’s game [1][3][4][5].

Contested: whether ending the jerseys was a reasonable compromise or a retreat, and what a league owes players with religious objections.

Why this case matters

Leagues are constantly deciding what players may say through uniforms and equipment. Compare The OneLove Armband: FIFA, Captains and Protest at the Qatar World Cup, Colin Kaepernick: Anthem Protest and Collusion Grievance and One Word at Every Goal Kick: Mexico, FIFA and the Homophobic Chant.

Key terms

Brand as ethical promise
A brand is more than a logo: it is a promise to stakeholders about values and conduct, and it is broken when actions contradict it.
Authenticity vs. PR spin
The tension between communicating truthfully and managing perception. Spin may protect a brand short term while eroding trust.
Agency
An athlete’s ability to make decisions and act independently about their body, career and voice.
Consent and autonomy
Whether people have agreed freely and with full information, and whether their right to make their own choices is respected.
Multiple points of view
Analyzing a dilemma from each stakeholder’s position in turn (athlete, parent, coach, administrator, official, bystander) before reaching your own reasoned view.
Stakeholders
Everyone with something at stake in a decision: athletes, coaches, parents, officials, fans, employees, sponsors, media, communities and regulators, including the less visible ones.

Definitions from the Ethics Cases glossary.

Discussion questions

  1. Was it fair to ask all players to wear Pride warmup jerseys?
  2. Did ending the jerseys reduce or increase the 'distraction'?
  3. Was banning Pride Tape different in kind from ending warmup jerseys?
  4. Was Dermott's defiance justified, given the risk to his career?
  5. Does 'voluntary' participation resolve the conflict?

Sources

  1. NHL eliminates themed warmup jerseys following Pride Night controversies in 2022-23 — CBS Sports
  2. NHL Ending Speciality Uniforms During Warmups — Philly Hockey Now
  3. NHL's updated theme night guidance for teams includes Pride Tape ban — Yahoo Sports
  4. 'Had to be done': Coyotes' Travis Dermott on using Pride tape, forcing NHL's hand — CBC Sports / The Canadian Press
  5. NHL statement on symbolic tape in support of social causes — NHL.com
  6. Statement on NHL's Decision to Reinstate Pride Tape Policy — You Can Play
  7. Prokop says NHL's reversal of social-causes tape ban sign of players' power — Sportsnet