With the passage of time, every sports league in the US is opening up to diversity, racial equality, and last but not least sexual equality. The NHL is no different with their annual ‘Pride Night’ as part of their ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ campaign. However, controversy erupted during Tuesday’s game between Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks. The Flyers’ star defenceman Ivan Provorov refused to wear a rainbow warmup jersey, and skipped the Pride Night altogether. John Tortorella, the Flyers’ coach, sat down with the press to clear the air.

The Pride Night is an annual night in Ice Hockey, where the NHL stands by all its players irrespective of their sexuality. When the Russian star defenceman skipped the event entirely, it raised eyebrows among many. Tortorella, however, set the record straight for all to hear.

Tortorella defends Ivan Provorov with the aid of a past learning experience

Ivan Vladimirovich Provorov, the Russian NHL player for Philadelphia Flyers, is all over the headlines for his controversial omission from the big night. John Tortorella joined 97.5 The Fanatic’s ‘Best Show Ever?’ podcast and addressed the media about Provorov’s decision. He said, “As I said Provi did nothing wrong. Just because you don’t agree with his decision doesn’t mean he did anything wrong”. He backed his star player confidently in front of the entire room full of media personnel.

Tortorella then cited an example from 2016 to prove his point. It was around that time when Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, which went against Tortorella’s principles. He was so livid that he was ready to bench anyone who would do that.

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However, Tortorella later realized that he was wrong and that it wasn’t fair to thrust his beliefs upon someone else. He said, “My feelings toward any type of protests to the flag during the anthem… It disgusts me, it disgusts me even to this day. Those are my feelings. I can’t push those feelings onto someone else. So I was wrong in saying that back then”. 

Tortorella justifies his stance on Provorov and asks for a better understanding

In a similar turn of events, he believes that everyone should also respect Provorov and not punish him for his personal beliefs. Tortorella continued, “Provi is not out there banging the drum against Pride Night. I think it takes on a life of its own sometimes because someone has a different belief”.

Whether one agrees or not with Tortorella, he has been commended for gently and gracefully he handling the situation. As for the flyer’s defenceman, Provorov later on cited his Russian Orthodox faith behind his decision. And while fans still debate the intent behind the decision, Tortorella backs him a hundred percent.

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