I didn’t say it’s political, I just said it distracts from the game.
I can maybe see it being allowed if all players have the same marking (e.g. an LGBT awareness week), but if each player can have something different, then that needs to be policed, which means someone needs to decide what is allowed and what isn’t. Any time that happens, you get stupid issues like this where they’ll allow one form of speech and disallow another, and the whole thing gets political.
So instead of making a list of things that are allowed, just have a policy of no speech on uniforms and sticks. That’s simple and keeps focus on the game instead of whatever cause a player believes in.
If they allow rainbow flags for expression, they should probably also allow political and commercial expression as well.
I just don’t understand where you’re going with this. How is a rainbow, an expression of support for a range of identities of people, equally unacceptable in a sports environment as a literal “Vote [name] for President!” sticker or a political party flag?
It just feels like you’re viewing the existence of certain people as “political.”
I think you’re missing one important thing about the NHL and Pro sports in general, it’s never been about the game. It’s entertainment to make money, that’s all it’s ever been. There is no “purity” or “for the love of the gave” just business.
Those are two different types of political, one is about government policy, and the other is about drama in some group. I’m saying that if there are rules to what kinds of speech are allowed, then the choice of what types of speech is allowed becomes political. So if they allow pink for breast cancer awareness but not rainbows for LGBT awareness, we end up with this type of conflict.
It’s better to just not allow expression like that during games.
it’s never been about the game. It’s entertainment to make money
True, but it’s entertainment where the game is front and center. It’s not like comedy where I’m there specifically for the jokes and social commentary. I’m there to watch the game and my favorite players perform, not see/hear their political, social, religious, etc views. If I want that, I can watch interviews with them, read books by/about them, or engage with whatever charities/causes they endorse.
Why are you so insistent that no focus be taken away from the game? Would a few players having differently-colored sticks or a little patch on their uniform really take your attention from the game?
Like, they’re not out there doing a Broadway on ice performance, they’re just putting some tape on sticks. The game doesn’t change because of some tape. If you have trouble focusing on the game because the rainbow tape is distracting, that’s probably a you issue. If you don’t like what you see on your screen, you can either ignore it, or change the channel. Easy as that.
I didn’t say it’s political, I just said it distracts from the game.
I can maybe see it being allowed if all players have the same marking (e.g. an LGBT awareness week), but if each player can have something different, then that needs to be policed, which means someone needs to decide what is allowed and what isn’t. Any time that happens, you get stupid issues like this where they’ll allow one form of speech and disallow another, and the whole thing gets political.
So instead of making a list of things that are allowed, just have a policy of no speech on uniforms and sticks. That’s simple and keeps focus on the game instead of whatever cause a player believes in.
I just don’t understand where you’re going with this. How is a rainbow, an expression of support for a range of identities of people, equally unacceptable in a sports environment as a literal “Vote [name] for President!” sticker or a political party flag?
It just feels like you’re viewing the existence of certain people as “political.”
Is it political or not chief lol?
I think you’re missing one important thing about the NHL and Pro sports in general, it’s never been about the game. It’s entertainment to make money, that’s all it’s ever been. There is no “purity” or “for the love of the gave” just business.
Those are two different types of political, one is about government policy, and the other is about drama in some group. I’m saying that if there are rules to what kinds of speech are allowed, then the choice of what types of speech is allowed becomes political. So if they allow pink for breast cancer awareness but not rainbows for LGBT awareness, we end up with this type of conflict.
It’s better to just not allow expression like that during games.
True, but it’s entertainment where the game is front and center. It’s not like comedy where I’m there specifically for the jokes and social commentary. I’m there to watch the game and my favorite players perform, not see/hear their political, social, religious, etc views. If I want that, I can watch interviews with them, read books by/about them, or engage with whatever charities/causes they endorse.
Why are you so insistent that no focus be taken away from the game? Would a few players having differently-colored sticks or a little patch on their uniform really take your attention from the game?
Like, they’re not out there doing a Broadway on ice performance, they’re just putting some tape on sticks. The game doesn’t change because of some tape. If you have trouble focusing on the game because the rainbow tape is distracting, that’s probably a you issue. If you don’t like what you see on your screen, you can either ignore it, or change the channel. Easy as that.