No, Ivan Provorov Doesn't Need to Wear the Pride Jersey
The fallacy of believing in compelled speech to further rights and equality
When National Hockey League player Ivan Provorov, declined to wear the special rainbow gay pride jersey for Philadelphia Flyers Pride Night, he ignited a firestorm. Commentators quickly labeled him a homophobic bigot and demanded he be cancelled. Numerous sports commentators (mostly straight) have rushed to denounce him for what he has allegedly done to the sport of professional hockey. One commentator even broke down in tears on air over what Provorov had done.1
This visceral anger is misplaced and it is ultimately counterproductive to the cause of sexual orientation and gender identity equality. Forcing people to make pro-LGBTQIA statements will not lead to a more egalitarian and tolerant society; it will strengthen the hands of homophobic bigots.2
The rainbow gay pride jersey is derived from the rainbow gay pride flag or LGBTQIA pride flag.3 The pride flag is a political symbol and statement. It was originally created to symbolize hope for change against the systemic oppression of LGBTQIA people.
In the past decade though, the pride flag has transformed. Once the flag of civil disobedience and symbol for the radical expression of societal change, it has gone mainstream. The pride flag can now be seen flown at Congressional offices, city halls, and corporate headquarters. For pride month, the colors of the pride flag are now seen lit up on major monuments like the Empire State Building.4 Even the White House has been lit up in the colors of the pride flag.5
Today, many professional sports teams host pride nights (something that once would have been unthinkable). And many of these same teams, like the Philadelphia Flyers, now have created pride jerseys for their players to wear during games, with the same rainbow color schemes as the pride flag. This is a good thing and shows just how far society has advanced.
However, as much as the pride flag means, it still a symbol that represents a political statement. So too does a pride jersey (after all, if it didn’t, why would anyone be mad at Ivan Provorov for not wearing one?).
Now, four points where I wholeheartedly agree with other LGBTQIA commentators who have also argued that Provorov does not have to wear the pride jersey.
No one is required to make a political statement no matter how much the public likes or agrees with that statement. No one should be forced to fly a pride flag. No professional athlete should be forced to wear a pride jersey.
One can fully support LGBTQIA civil rights while declining for whatever personal reasons, to not fly the pride flag or wear a pride jersey. An old episode of Seinfeld had this a plot point when Kramer chooses not to wear the AIDS ribbon even while marching in the AIDS walk, much to the ire of everyone else.
Kramer, a man who marched to the beat of his own drum, disliked fashion trends. He clearly supported the fight against AIDS and stood in solidarity with AIDS victims. He just didn’t want to wear an AIDS ribbon while marching (something lost on an angry crowd, which was more concerned with who wore the AIDS ribbon rather than fighting AIDS itself).
Numerous civil rights movements can have symbols. But not all supporters are going to agree to wear those symbols. That has to be respected.While I obviously don’t agree with his views, Provorov has every right to his personal beliefs. He has to follow all non-discrimination laws prohibiting sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination (something we need more of actually). But he is not prohibited from being a homophobic bigot. Legislation cannot prohibit hatred or bias, nor can it require support of views deemed societally acceptable. Provorov does not have to support or favor civil rights with which he disagrees, for whatever reason he disagrees.
No professional athlete needs to wear a pride jersey for me to have a sense of self-worth as a gay man or know that I should be treated as an equal citizen in society regardless of my sexual orientation. My own personal feelings do not depend upon whether a stranger I’ve never met makes or doesn’t make a pro-gay statement. Anyone who is “triggered” or “traumatized” by Provorov’s refusal to wear the pride jersey ought to shift their attention away from “social justice” and instead, spend time working on themselves.
However, there is another key issue. Some have argued that Provorov is promoting homophobic bigotry by refusing to wear the pride jersey and harming the LGBTQIA community. If anything, however, the reaction to him by social media warriors has been far more harmful to the LGBTQIA community.
Simply making political statements or wearing political symbols does not actually always equate with an individual’s true feelings. A person’s pro-LGBTQIA political stances does not always mean that they operate their lives free of bigotry. Perhaps it’s because I have experienced homophobic and heterosexist discrimination at the hands of supposed LGBTQIA allies, including fellow Democrats, so-called progressives, and even fellow gay people, that I recognize a person who makes a pro-gay political statement doesn’t always operate without bigotry against LGBTQIA people. Sometimes, statements are made for the purpose of gaining personal or economic benefit. They’re not truly genuine.
The statement that professional athletes made by donning pride jerseys felt different. These professional athletes seemingly have no incentive to make bold political declarations in favor of LGBTQIA civil rights. There wasn’t a huge gay sports fan base (at least for men’s sports) to be mined by doing so. Instead, it seemed like players were signaling they genuinely believed in sexual orientation equality. And they were willing to do their small part to make society more egalitarian, break down barriers for LGBTQIA people, and fight against homophobic and transphobic discrimination.
In many ways, the reaction to Provorov has left me wondering whether some of my favorite professional athletes have donned pride jerseys because they genuinely believed in the cause (advancing LGBTQIA civil rights) or whether they simply did so because they were compelled. The fact that it’s possibly the latter makes the act of these players donning pride jerseys feel hollow and empty.
Because what does it mean to see a professional athlete wear a pride jersey?
It’s far more than just virtue signaling. Professional athletes are often revered and looked up to by numerous members of the public, especially younger men who aspire to grow up and be just like them. If a homophobic young person looks up to a professional sports player, dreams of one day emulating that player, and models themselves after that player, that pride jersey can have a very powerful effect.
If one’s personal hero is showing support for the LGBTQIA community and civil rights, perhaps that person will at least reconsider their own bigoted views. After all, if their hero supports gay rights, perhaps they should do so too.
For many people, their hometown professional sports team represents their particular city or region. Their team success fills that fan with local pride. In a funny way, those fans often see the players as those who stand up for their own community. When fans like that see their favorite hometown players wearing the pride jersey, they see the very same professional athlete who stands for them also standing for the LGBTQIA community. It helps send a powerful message against bigotry.
Professional athletes who wear the pride jersey also send a powerful message to young and talented gay athletes who aspire to play professionally. Even talented athletes will not make the pros (or at least be successful professional athletes) without committing themselves to hard work and discipline.
For young gay athletes, the wearing of the pride jersey demonstrates that their efforts to devote themselves to their sport are worthwhile. Because if they are good enough to make the pros, they will be judged for their athletic ability, not their sexual orientation. Furthermore, they know that if they can make it to the pros, they will join teams where they will be welcomed and free to be who they are.
But how does donning the pride jersey mean any of that if it turns out that players who wearing these pride jerseys do so because it’s a forced requirement by the team?
Compelling a person to make a political statement does not persuade that person of the truth of that statement. It does not change their heart or their mind. And it does not change the hearts or minds of others. When a statement is compelled, it is made under duress and cannot be seen as a reflection of true feelings. And when people with bigoted views see strong statements against bigotry that are not genuine but compelled, those people do not change their attitudes or their behavior.
If anything, attacking Provorov for refusing to wear the pride jersey only reinforces the feelings of homophobes. It reinforces the common viewpoint of bigots that they are now oppressed for their views. When they see professional athletes wearing pride jerseys, they will see it not as a sign that these players believe in gay rights, but as a sign that these players have to wear such jerseys or face the consequences.
Provorov is thus is not a symbol of someone who opposes equality, he simply becomes the one player on the team who was brave enough to be honest about his true views. The result of the social media reaction is that Provorov’s personal jerseys nearly sold out.6 Fans saw him as the oppressed one and showed their support for him. Rather than promote pro-LGBTQIA views, this attempt to compel him to wear a pride jersey has only reinforced the position of bigots. Not one heart or mind has been changed.
There are very few openly gay athletes in professional sports. It often seems like there must be far more who are currently playing but fear coming out while playing professionally.7 The few professional athletes who have dared to come out while playing professionally (Michael Sam, Jason Collins, Carl Nassib) have not lasted particularly long on their teams after coming out.
Even in today’s far more tolerant world, there are reasons why professional athletes might not want to come out. Great players make money off selling merchandise (things like jerseys, specialty t-shirts, autographed balls, bobbleheads, etc.). It raises some critical questions for that athlete.
How much personal merchandise will a great professional athlete sell if they are openly gay?
How many kids will still be interested in wearing them and how many parents will be willing to buy them for their kids?
How many lucrative endorsement deals will be as forthcoming for a gay star athlete compared to a straight star athlete?
While there are certainly some professional sports franchises that would love to have an openly gay player in the hopes of building up an LGBTQIA fan base, it’s likely that many teams would fear alienating some of their fan base. For a gay player, if only a few teams are willing to sign them as free agents, it limits what they can potentially earn.
Attitudes are changing for the better. But certainly potential economic losses have to weigh in a professional athlete’s consideration of whether to come out while playing professionally.
To the extent that we wish to change that dynamic and empower gay professional athletes to play while out, it requires a deeper societal change. Not just the compelled speech of Provorov wearing the pride jersey.
Professional athletes who don the pride jersey should be making a powerful statement that empowers the LGBTQIA community. However, if professional athletes wearing the pride jersey is to mean anything positive for the LGBTQIA community, it cannot be compelled. It must be a genuine statement on the part of the athlete. Under no circumstances, should Ivan Provorov or any other player be compelled to wear the pride jersey.
https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/toronto-analyst-literally-whines-and-cries-on-live-air-over-provorov-incident
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https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/26/politics/white-house-rainbow-marriage/index.html
There may be other larger societal and cultural reasons for more professional athletes not being gay due to traditional gender norms and stereotypes. Some gay athletes might not be self-actualized.