The Staal brothers and San Jose's James Reimer - who are Canadian - and Philadelphia's Ivan Provorov, who is Russian, all pointed to their religious beliefs for refusing to take part in warmups.
"We carry no judgement on how people choose to live their lives, and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey," Eric and Marc Staal said in a statement. "Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey, it goes against our Christian beliefs."
No North American professional sports league has as many Russian players as the NHL. The Russian contingent includes some of the league's best athletes. The top five highest-earning Russian players receive an average annual salary of $11.1 million this season. Sergei Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender who is making $12 million, participated in Florida's warmup in a Pride-themed jersey.
Rainbow Pride stick tape debuted with the Edmonton Oilers in 2016. Now all 32 teams hold a Pride night, though many do so without themed jerseys. The Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets call theirs "Hockey Is For Everyone" night.WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION?"Religion and respect are not in conflict with each other, and we are certainly disappointed when religion is used as a reason to not support our community," the organization said.
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