NHL teams with Russian players have an unusual problem. Some teams wanted to support the LGBTQ+ community, and hockey players were supposed to wear special rainbow t-shirts. However, the situation was complicated by the law introduced by Vladimir Putin in Russia.

Minnesota Wild officials recently announced that club players will wear rainbow jerseys. Later, the information was quietly removed from the website and the hockey players came out to warm up before the game against the Calgary Flames in standard uniforms. This was noted by journalist Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Why is the club behaving this way? According to unofficial information, hockey players were afraid of “Putin’s law”. The Russian President has led the passage of laws in the country that prohibit the promotion of the LGBTQ+ community in the media, internet, literature, cinema and other mass media.

The Minnesota team includes a Russian hockey player – Kirill Kaprizov.

Minnesota club activists had to think about how to handle the situation for several days and carefully studied the regulations adopted by the Russian State Duma. Finally, for fear of penal consequences for their player, the wearing of rainbow jerseys was abandoned.

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Vladimir Putin’s propaganda media are already trying to take advantage of the situation. “I don’t think the clubs are afraid that our players will be persecuted in Russia because of this law. The Russians were just supporting their teammates and showing them this LGBT madness. Normal athletes will wake up from this dream and simply refuse to wear rainbow shirts,” State Duma member Vitaly Milonov told RB Sport.

Earlier, Ivan Provorov, who plays for the Philadelphia Flyers, behaved similarly. He boycotted Equality Night in the NHL in the second half of January. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion,” said the Russian hockey player.

The New York Rangers also have Russian hockey players on their team. In this case, they also ran out of T-shirts supporting the LGBTQ+ community. “Consistent with the core values ​​of our organization, we support the right of every individual to respectfully express their beliefs,” the club said in a statement.

According to the law adopted at the end of October, promoting any LGBTQ+ activity and community in Russia is punishable by a fine of up to 5 million rubles (0.29 million PLN). If this “crime” is committed by foreigners, they are threatened with expulsion from the country.

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