Islanders’ Pride Night won’t feature rainbow jerseys or tape

The Islanders will be the latest team to avoid wearing rainbow warmups for Pride Night on Thursday against the Canucks.

Unlike the Rangers, who pulled their plans to do so without explanation, the Islanders have never worn rainbow jerseys due to an organizational policy against wearing specialized warmups. The only ones they wear are mandated by the league: Hockey Fights Cancer, Military and St. Patrick’s Day.

The Islanders also won’t be using rainbow tape in warmups, another common theme in Pride nights throughout the league.

The issue has come to the forefront this season after Philadelphia defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to take part in warmups on the Flyers’ Pride Night, stating his religious beliefs as his reason for not supporting the LGBTQ+ community. A couple weeks later, the Rangers suddenly reversed their plans to wear rainbow warmups, and still haven’t explained why.

The Islanders will be making donations toward the LGBT Network and the New York Gay Hockey Association, as well as a series of other initiatives including Pride branding on their advertising boards and on the team’s social and digital platforms.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has made clear that he doesn’t want the issue of rainbow warmups to overshadow the league’s initiatives supporting the gay community. In reality, though, it has.

“You know what our goals and our values and our intentions are across the league, whether it’s at the league level or the club level,” Bettman said at last week’s All-Star Game. “But we also have to respect some individual choice. And some people are more comfortable embracing themselves and causes than others. And part of being diverse and welcoming is understanding those differences.”