Professional hockey player Alex Ovechkin stirred up a hornet’s nest on social media last weekend when he announced that he would not participate in a pro-LGBT initiative set to take place before the Washington Capitals game against the Florida Panthers. As we all know well, when someone with a huge platform and influence, especially in the realm of professional sports, decides to reject wokeness and refuse to kowtow to whatever minority group they are trying to score points with, it usually sparks massive backlash. Thus, Ovechkin’s actions are actually stunning and brave.
Ovechkin, who was born in Russia, ranks as one of the most accomplished players in the history of the National Hockey League. In fact, he surpassed Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky in April 2025, scoring more than 900 regular-season goals. That in and of itself makes Ovechkin a legend. But he just had to go and one-up that with his refusal to appease the woke folk. Got to love a guy like that.
The Capitals’ star player, who is 40 years old, took to the ice without his stick donning rainbow-colored tape. And he wasn’t alone. Five other players followed his lead. Solid leadership inspires others to rise to the occasion. When one soul is brave enough to tell the angry left mob to politely shove their crap where the sun doesn’t shine, others feel empowered to stand for what they believe too.
The subtle sign of protest earned Ovechkin a ton of support on social media—shocking, right?—and stood in stark contrast to the official Capitals X account, which posted several pro-LGBT graphics and “pride” pictures to its 744,500 followers.
According to LifeSiteNews, the NHL has hosted “pride nights” since the early 2010s. However, in recent years, an increasing number of players have resisted them in different ways. In 2013, Ovechkin himself refused to participate in a pregame warmup. In 2023, Ivan Provorov was the only player on the Philadelphia Flyers to refuse to wear a rainbow-colored jersey during pregame activities.
Others also took a stand against the LGBT agenda. In that same year, Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers released a statement saying that “wearing a pride jersey…goes against our Christian beliefs.” James Reimer, goalie for the San Jose Sharks, also refused to sport the jersey, saying, “I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life.”
Frustrated players applied the right amount of pressure on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who admitted during an interview that “Pride Night” had “become more of a distraction.” He then stated, “I think it’s something that we’re going to have to evaluate in the offseason.”
“Although the NHL hasn’t done away with ‘Pride Nights,’ it has scrapped themed jerseys for players to wear for pregame warmups. Russian players who belong to the Orthodox Church voiced religious objections, prompting the league to make this decision,” the report concluded.
Professional sports should unite everyone without bringing politics and cultural issues into the mix. People of all walks of life, including the athletes, should feel comfortable backing a team and finding common ground in their love of the game. Leftists, however, want to infect every area of life with their ideology. It’s up to us not to allow them to succeed.
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