Leafs locker room leader addresses the NHL's decision to not wear specialty jerseys in warmups
Yesterday evening, the NHL made a very surprising and repulsive decision to not allow teams to wear specialty jerseys for events such as "Pride Night", "Military Night", "Hockey Fights Cancer" and others. The decision, made by the Board of Governors, comes on the heels of a season where all of maybe 10 players refused or chose not to wear pride jerseys or participate in "Pride Night" festivities. The actions of those players and how their teams and the league handled the situations received considerable backlash. The decision to not wear specialty jerseys also comes on the heels of Gary Bettman saying that hockey is for everyone and the NHL is welcoming to people for the last few years.
Leafs blueliner Morgan Rielly is one of the players on the team who is most involved with the community. He is also a very public advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. Rielly was taking part in a charity street hockey tournament yesterday and following the tournament, he was asked about the NHL's decision.
"With issues like that, with movements like that, I'll support them, no matter what, whether we wear jerseys or not ... That support is not going to go away," said Rielly, who has been very outspoken and supportive of all movements throughout his career.
Based on the response from players on social media, they will find their own way to show their support in warm ups during these special event games and it would not be surprising if some teams like the Leafs go against the NHL's decision and wear jerseys anyway and pay whatever fine the league decides to throw at them.
