NHL teams won’t wear theme-night jerseys after players’ Pride refusals caused distractions

NHL teams won’t have special jerseys for pregame warmups during themed nights next season, the result of a handful of players refusing to wear rainbow-colored Pride jerseys this past season and causing unwelcome distractions. AdvertisementThe Dallas Stars held their Pride night in March and warmed up in jerseys featuring a rainbow-themed Dallas Stars logo. Seven players, citing various reasons, decided not to take part in pregame warmups when their teams donned Pride jerseys before games. Russian players Ilya Lyubushkin of Buffalo, Denis Gurianov of Montreal and Andrei Kuzmenko of Vancouver also opted out of their teams’ Pride night warmups. Lyubushkin cited an anti-gay Kremlin law as his reason, which was also why the Chicago Blackhawks decided against Pride night jerseys.