PK Subbans LGBTQ+ comments divide the hockey community

This season’s NHL headlines are dominated by players who refuse to wear the Pride shirt and the debate on LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports. Although Pride is a harbinger, the toxic culture of hockey takes center stage as the sport struggles not only with homophobia and transphobia, but also with issues of ableism and misogyny, as well as visible racism. Experts argue about Pride, but experts who want to promote diversity, equality, inclusion and fairness in sport call for a more interactive approach.

The crossover issues of the sport were brought to the fore this week by PK Subbans comment on the Pride celebrations. An advocate for underprivileged youth and a vocal advocate for combating anti-black racism in hockey, Subban faced backlash when he opposed an initiative supporting another capital-seeking group, the Pride.

Subban’s comments focused on what he felt encouraged athletes to become activists by wearing Pride jerseys before the game, even though Subban himself designed the Black History Month jerseys for the New Jersey Devils to wear in 2022.

We can’t force everyone to be an activist, we have to be very careful, Subban told Reuters. I feel like people pick and choose what they want to talk about and I don’t like it when we put the onus on athletes to be activists.

You can support the LGBTQ community without a hat, Tshirt or shirt.

As reported by Reuters, Subban dismissed any suggestion that minorities and marginalized children might feel unwelcome in those buildings after seeing their favorite NHL team or player decide not to support some Pride Night initiatives.

Subban, who played 834 NHL games and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2013, then turned his criticism toward the media, who he said needs to be held accountable for pushing certain stories and should focus more on the positive work being done.

There are many players in the league who have started programs why isn’t the media talking about it? Subban asked.

Ornella Nzindukiyimana, an assistant professor at St. Francis Xavier University whose research focuses on black Canadian sports history, says wearing a Pride jersey is not activism, and she considers Subban’s proposal to be extremely unfair.

Nzindukiyimana also believes that Subbans’ comments dismiss the intersectional issues of oppression and that if the work being done through other initiatives was sufficient, Pride and Black History events in hockey would not be necessary.

If the work behind the scenes was as wonderful and sufficient as Subban suggests, there would be no need for initiatives like Pride or Black History Month, Nzindukiyimana said.

The existence of these information campaigns is an annual reminder that there is much to be done, both symbolically and practically, he continued. The league’s publicity is just as important as the training of the athletes, and it’s not an either/or issue. We are talking about deep-seated problems that cannot be solved by one action or one word. All these problems originate from the same place and cannot be dealt with separately.

Subban’s comments were not well received by members of the LGBTQ+ community or those working to change hockey’s toxic culture. Issues of sexism, homophobia, transphobia and racism are intertwined in sport, by Jashvina Shah, who wrote Abuse of the Game: Hockeys Toxic Culture and How to Fix It Next to Evan Moore knows well.

Nothing in life is lonely and unless we support all causes and uplift all marginalized people, we will uplift no one,” Shah said.

There are marginalized people who belong to more than one community and by excluding people from some communities, we also exclude those who exist in our own communities as well. It is also just the right way to support marginalized people from all backgrounds.

Shahie’s sentiments were echoed by many, including Lexi Brown. Brown, who has a Doctor of Philosophy in Education and is married to black former NHL player JT Brown, responded to Subbans’ comments on social media.

Wearing a T-shirt is a minimum requirement for promoting an inclusive environment, he wrote. These white millionaires don’t need you to stand up for them, the trans kids in Iowa, the Queer kids in Florida, and all the BIPOC LGBTQ+ kids are the ones who need us to show up for them right now. I wish these quotes were taken out of context because how can you even try to speak for the LGBTQ+ community like that.

Subban, who does not publicly identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, has been a positive advocate of anti-racism. His 2022 jersey, which featured the slogan A Movement, Not A Moment, was a response to anti-black racism in hockey, including an incident involving his brother Jordan in January 2022. Regarding racism, Subban himself noted that others outside the black community don’t understand what black athletes are dealing with.

If you’re not black, you don’t understand for us, this is life. This is life for us. And that’s sad. This is life for people who look like me, who have been through hockey. And that’s part of history, whether we like it or not, and we tried to change it. I am an advocate of changing that.

By limiting her support for equality to one group, whether as an activist or an ally, the risk is that others will be excluded. As Nzindukiyimana said, opposition to wearing the Pride jersey, especially for the reasons cited by current NHL players, is not only counterproductive, it’s ignorant.

If they are not part of the solution, we can only assume they are part of the problem because the arguments they are making are reckless and out of the ignorant playbook,” Nzindukiyimana said. Wearing a t-shirt doesn’t make someone non-homophobic, but not wearing it certainly doesn’t mean you’re anti-homophobic, especially on these grounds.

Evan Moore, co-author Abuse of the Game: Hockeys Toxic Culture and How to Fix It says that many affinity groups act for a common interest or common goal, and the individuals who make up these groups can often forget the oppression experienced by others.

Blind spots for intersectionality are something that all affinity groups come down to, said Moore, who pointed to organizations like the Black Girl Hockey Club and the Hockey Diversity Alliance as groups that manage to achieve their own goals while maintaining a firm grip on the alliance of others.

When these failed merger cases are brought up, as is the case with PK Subban, Moore says the allies should listen to other groups seeking capital.

Marginalized groups leaning on each other and ignoring the grievances of others is a terrible idea, Moore said. When someone pulls us aside to point out [blindspots] out, we must listen.

Hockey still deals with issues related to racism. At the same time, hockey continues to deal with issues of homophobia and transphobia. Places are needed for all groups seeking equality, and while there are solutions, the hockey world keeps talking about diversity, equity and inclusion without listening.