(LifeSiteNews) — On December 10, the stadium audience at Bell Centre for the “Pride Night” game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning got an up-close look at what they were celebrating when the trailer for Heated Rivalry was aired on the jumbotron during intermission.
The TV show is billed as a “Canadian sports romance” and features the story of two rival professional hockey players who face off aggressively on the ice while engaging in a secret homosexual relationship that lasts for years. The trailer features many close-up shots of the two men locked in an embrace, and photos promptly popped up on social media. The trailer was also aired during a December 14 faceoff with the Edmonton Oilers.
Many celebrated the move online as a victory for LGBT rights, with one sports podcaster crowing that the Canadiens were “the first NHL team to acknowledge the show since its premiere” and The Wrap noting that “the league even played their ultra-steamy trailer for the Pride Night attendees.”
The National Hockey League (NHL) has been sponsoring “Pride” events since 2011; by 2017, all 32 teams in the NHL were hosting “Pride Nights,” which features LGBT-themed merchandise, fundraising for LGBT groups, and prominent partnerships with LGBT organizations. At first, many of the teams wore LGBT jerseys and “rainbow” hockey tape on sticks, until some players began pushing back and refusing to participate.
In 2023, Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers politely declined to wear an LGBT during a warmup game, citing his Russian Orthodox faith. Sports commentators were apoplectic, demanding that he be fined and punished harshly. Provorov played anyway. The same year, players from the Minnesota Wild also decided that they didn’t want to wear the jerseys during warmup, followed by Florida Panthers players Eric and Marc Staal, who stated:
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. Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey, it goes against our Christian beliefs.
James Reimer, the goalie for the San Jose Sharks, concurred in his own refusal, saying: “In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life.” Despite media calls for players to be disciplined, the NHL scrambled to find a solution and decided instead to ban all themed warmup jerseys.
That decision was reversed, and players are now permitted to wear LGBT symbols if they choose – although all 32 teams still host a “Pride Night,” and refusing to participate in that event, which is now replete with a film trailer for a homosexual romance, would likely come with more inconvenient professional consequences. The Montreal Canadiens have certainly embraced LGBT activism – their “Pride Night” came with “awareness workshops” and plenty of LGBT swag for fans. When it comes to professional sports, the activists may not have conquered every player – but they have certainly colonized the leagues.
In 2021, the National Football League released a video stating that: “Football is gay. Football is queer. Football is lesbian. Football is transgender. Football is bisexual. Football is beautiful. Football is accepting. Football is for everyone.” The same, apparently, goes for the National Hockey League – and in case you don’t know what that means, they’ll play explicit videos on the jumbotron during intermission so you get the picture.
