Connor Murphy calls out players who decline to participate in Pride Night

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov ignited a bit of a controversy earlier this season when he declined to participate in the Flyers' Pride Night celebrations, citing his religious beliefs as his reasoning.

Since then, there have been a few lower profile cases of players and teams choosing to do the same as Provorov, with both the New York Islanders and the Minnesota Wild declining to wear specialty Pride warmup jerseys as they were scheduled. 

To be perfectly frank, I have no problem with players wearing these jerseys and I have no problem with players declining to wear these jerseys. Canada and America are both free countries. If you want to express yourself, you have that right. If you want to keep your feelings personal, you also have that right. Again, to me this entire fiasco ignited by Provorov's decision is a complete non-story. I understand that that's not how everyone sees it though. Far from it...

Provorov's decision has sparked discussion from individuals on both sides of the ledger with some people calling him a hero and other people calling him a bigot. Provorov's head coach and his teammates have supported him, but it's clear that maybe not everyone is on the same page as him. Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy essentially called out Provorov and anyone else who doesn't participate in Pride Night in his latest comments to The Athletic's Mark Lazerus.

From Lazerus' latest column for The Athletic:

The Blackhawks’ Pride night is March 26 against the Vancouver Canucks, and Connor Murphy fully expects the entire team to wear the jerseys, as they have in the past. It’s not something that’s been discussed as a team, however.

“I don’t think we really had anything that we needed to talk about,” Murphy said. “I don’t think we have anyone, that I know of, that wouldn’t support that. I think it was surprising to see that stuff came up this year. We’ve been doing it for so many years, so it’s not like it’s a new subject.”

Murphy said the Blackhawks’ marketing team keeps the players aware of any upcoming theme nights, so they don’t show up at the rink confused about why a different jersey is hanging in their locker stall for warmups, such as the Black History Month jerseys they wore last month. Murphy said those discussions “allow guys to feel more a part of it.”

I can appreciate Murphy's opinion, even if I don't necessarily agree with him. The players shouldn't be forced to participate in something they don't believe in. That goes for Pride Night, obviously, but it should also go for things like Military Appreciation Night and Law Enforcement Appreciation Night, as well.