‘Hockey Is for Everyone,’ Even a Russian Orthodox Christian

An alternate captain for the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, Ivan Provorov, is enduring lashings in the press for refusing to wear an LGBTQ+ Pride jersey during warmups. He cites his Russian Orthodox faith. His dissent is forcing the league to answer whether diversity and inclusion are sincere goals or just code words for conformity.“I respect everybody,” Mr. Provorov said, “and I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.” Regardless of the popularity of the issue at hand, his statement is in line with tolerance as well as the spirit of religious freedoms and of bans on religious tests in the American Constitution.Mr. Provorov might be expected to keep his head down, as he is three things that are unpopular in our current pop culture: Russian, Christian, and a player for the Flyers, whose reputation for dirty play was set in stone when the Red Army team refused to finish a 1976 goodwill game because they were getting knocked around on the ice.It’s Mr. Provorov’s Russian background that drew the ire of an analyst on the NHL Network, Emil Joseph “E.J.” Hradek. “Ivan Provorov can get on a plane any day he wants and go back to a place where he feels more comfortable,” he said on “NHL Now,” suggesting the defenseman take less money to play in Russia’s KHL.“If this is that much of a problem for him to maybe assimilate into his group of teammates,” Mr. Hradek said, “and in the community and here in this country, that’s okay.” That notion of “assimilation” was once central to the immigrant experience, but hasn’t it fallen out of favor as “diversity is our strength” has ascended and the melting pot metaphor has been supplanted by a stew of multiculturalism?“Listen,” Mr. Hradek said, “you can feel any way you want,” which is very generous of him, “but the beauty is, if it bothers you that much, there’s always a chance to leave. Go back where you feel more comfortable. I understand there’s a conflict going on over there; maybe get involved.”The taunt to go back where you came from is a hallmark of xenophobia, as is casting the 26-year-old Mr. Provorov — who has lived here since he was 13 — as the one with the problem and suggesting he should return to fight for a country ruled by a regime that brooks no dissent and seeks a return to its communist past.A journalist on Canada’s “Breakfast Television,” Sid Seixeiro, also took offense and suggested that the Flyers fine Mr. Provorov a million dollars. He then asked, “If anyone in Canada or in the States on a military appreciation night wouldn’t wear a jersey pre-game, do you have any idea the uproar that would have happened on that?”We don’t have to imagine such an allegory. In 2019, a former Bruins coach and legendary “Hockey Night in Canada” host, Don Cherry, criticized immigrants for not wearing poppies to commemorate Remembrance Day. “At least you could pay a couple of bucks for poppies or something like that,” he said. “These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada.” Mr. Cherry was fired, though he didn’t tell anyone to go back where they came from; he only encouraged them to assimilate by celebrating the country that had welcomed them, and the very hockey press now screaming for Mr. Provorov’s head joined hands to call for the coach’s. It’s also worth noting that under Russia’s strict anti-gay laws, Mr. Provorov’s statement that he respects the choices of the people the LGBTQ+ jersey set out to honor would land him in trouble with the authorities — unlike in America and Canada, where we boast of tolerating even unpopular opinions. Mr. Provorov’s exercise of nonconformity demonstrates that he’s assimilated well and that he takes the NHL slogan, “hockey is for everyone,” at face value. If those like Messrs. Hradek and Seixeiro can’t embrace that concept of tolerance, it’s they who are free to find a place that enforces conformity — say, as broadcasters for the KHL.

‘Hockey Is for Everyone,’ Even a Russian Orthodox Christian

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