[luke fox] Maple Leafs will wear helmet decals, not warmup sweaters to acknowledge Pride Night. They’ve never worn pride jerseys in the past. Morgan Rielly: “I believe that actions speak louder than words and especially speak louder than attire.”
Maple Leafs will wear helmet decals, not warmup sweaters to acknowledge Pride Night. They’ve never worn pride jerseys in the past.
Morgan Rielly: “I believe that actions speak louder than words and especially speak louder than attire.”
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) April 4, 2023
by FutureAnybody
32 Comments
So they’ll wear those ugly drew sweaters, but can’t wear pride ones? Why not wear them and then auction them and put the money towards lgbtq+ initiatives.
I know many of the people in the org are huge advocates and allies, but I’ll admit I find this disappointing
[deleted]
I guess if they didn’t plan on wearing pride jerseys to start the year, they wouldn’t throw something together last minute.
They should introduce them asap though. I’d buy one.
I mean, the Helmet decals will be on the whole game during a national broadcast. Sure it sucks they aren’t doing a jersey, but its definitely not getting ignored entirely like some teams deciding to drop the jerseys last minute.
Most level headed thought regarding the topic.
Y’all are nazi esque with these pride uniforms.
Rightttttt it’s not nazi esque for y’all to freak out about people not wearing cloth with a designated colour sequence.
Too easy
They’ll also be wearing t shirts designed by a Canadian artist called Jon Hanlan who is bi and will be selling merch with some proceeds going to a 2SLGBTQ+ hockey league.
I’ll be interested to see, have goalies traditionally worn the decal? I have to imagine cameras will be breaking their necks trying to get every angle to see if Samsonov has one, particularly if Woll does.
The fact they had no intention of wearing the jersey’s makes this a non story, odd a city like Toronto wouldn’t be doing jerseys but as long as its not a reaction to the refusals and was the plan all along, its not really worthy of criticism.
#stickerwatch
Hopefully this isn’t made an issue, Leafs are one of the most inclusive organizations in all of sports. Their stars/executives also participate regularly in pride parades.
I’m more surprised at the lack of marketing opportunity here.
I wish they just all wore different coloured helmets so collectively looked like a rainbow
Who fkn cares man Jesus
[deleted]
Disappointing. After seeing all the drama around the league and the leafs don’t do anything meaningful. Weak.
Although I️ agree with Reilly.
I was at the Marlies game on Sunday and as far as I could tell, there wasnt an official patch or anything. Certain players did their own thing like wear the colours on their skates or stick.
Love that take from Mo. So true. That’s the whole problem with this initiative is that it means nothing for the players to simply comply to a dress code. Those who choose to take action for causes they believe in have a much more significant impact on those causes.
The league should have just added an ice painted logo to all arenas instead of getting themselves into the mess they have with all the “Christian & Russian ” players who are not cooperating
I wonder if Samsonov wears a decal on his mask. This whole scheme could have been concocted just to accommodate him, for obvious reasons.
I am surprised MLSE is not taking advantage of the chance to sell another jersey
Remember that time the internet got mad at Reilly for a homophobic slur because someone on the Tampa bench said “Rag it” and it got picked up by the mic? Good times
Imagine needing to feel validated on who you sleep with
Such a fragile community
There’s nothing “inclusive” about forcing one’s views on others
NHL Players “Actions speak louder than words.”
Also NHL players *call player that was sexually assaulted a homophobic slur*
Sounds good. And honestly I agree. All about the actions taken to support a welcoming environment at every level of hockey.
The decals fit as a gesture. But what’s done outside of pride nights is what really matters.
I’m a huge supporter of these Pride nights. If LGBTQ folk appreciate these events (which for the most part it sounds like they do), then I’ll continue to defend them regardless of the hate they get.
I’d personally really enjoy a warmup jersey and I do find it a bit bizarre that they’ll wear special sweaters for military appreciation night but not Pride, but I’m willing to give Dubas and Rielly a pass as they have been vocal supporters of other pride events in the past as well. I’m not sure what it would take for them to do more, but it’s reassuring to know that the support does exist internally.
This seems more like the leafs are taking a stronger, more supportive approach to it than other teams, a warm up jersey you only wear for a few minutes compared to a helmet decal that’s going to be plastered all over the TV screens all night long. Just personal opinion but it seems to me like this is the higher visibility approach.
Holy shit. Morgan said The first sensible thing anyone has said in this whole mess. Bless the man and his wisdom.
Good call Leafs. No need for jerseys and the drama associated with it. Morgan is right too. Stop forcing the players into awkward spots and let them do what they want with their actions.
Why not make it an issue? To protect the leafs organization? I’m a diehard leafs fan but hold them accountable.
Actions absolutely speak louder than attire….
This whole pride thing is stupid, hockey isn’t an inclusive sport, theres a clear history of bigotry and homophobia, all this refusing to wear pride colours is is being tired of pretending. Fuck hockey.
Man people are making way too fucking much of this story.
They’re trying to spin the headline like the Leafs decided AGAINST wearing jerseys that were planned. The reality is, the jerseys just haven’t been part of how they celebrate pride night. Why? Because that’s never how they’ve done it…
And then Samsonov
“The Leafs will have Pride decals on their helmets, but Russian goaltender Ilya Samsonov isn’t expected to wear one on the back of his mask.”
What does that even mean? Isn’t expected? Have the goalies ever worn the sticker? Do goalies ever put stickers on their helmets?
Doesn’t need to be made a jersey. They’ve done their due diligence on this and I’m happy to say I trust the teams judgement