Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde was asked about the NHL’s decision to ban “Pride Tape” during the offseason, and, as MLive’s Ansar Khan notes, coach Lalonde was blunt in his reply:
“That’s a league decision; obviously, that’s out of my hands and above my pay scale or even what I should even comment on,” Lalonde said when asked about the hot-button topic. “But I’m an all-inclusive guy. I’ve always been. Probably a lot of credit to my family, my upbringing. I fully support the league mandates, but I’m a person that believes in all-inclusion, always have and always will.”
The NHL sent a memo to teams last week outlining what players are allowed to do and what they can’t do during theme celebrations this season. It included a ban on the colorful tape. Any player who uses such tape will be fined.
“That’s probably not my spot to say because some of these, it comes down to the individual at times,” Lalonde said. “I can’t speak for the Red Wings. I don’t want to speak for the Red Wings. I can speak for myself and I always have been, always will be a very proud, all-inclusive person.”
The Free Press’s Helene St. James also took note of coach Lalonde’s remarks:
Amid the NHL’s decision to ban rainbow-colored “Pride tape” coming as a further blow to what used to be a league celebration of Pride Night, Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde favors inclusion.
“I’m an all-inclusive guy, I’ve always been,” Lalonde said Wednesday.
The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players are allowed — and not allowed — to do to celebrate special causes. One of the items included a ban on the use of “Pride tape” — rainbow-colored stick tape. The memo states that player uniforms and game gear cannot be altered to reflect theme nights, including Pride, Hockey Fights Cancer or military appreciation celebrations. Players can voluntarily participate in themed celebrations off the ice.
Let’s be honest here: an outright ban of things like “Pride Tape,” camouflage tape and purple tape for Hockey Fights Cancer Night is dumb. If somebody doesn’t want to participate, that’s their business, but the theme nights raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities, and…
It’s all very short-sighted of Mr. Gary Bettman and his Board of Governors, because the whole concept is that everyone should be welcome at NHL games, whether we agree with each other’s beliefs or not. If we love hockey, that’s the point.
