In this Year of Consumer Backlash, it may go down as one of the biggest coups of 2023. While Americans bring the country’s mightiest brands to their knees, Major League Baseball has decided to dodge the flak, quietly ordering teams to ditch their Pride uniforms entirely. The directive, which was issued at the height of the NHL’s players’ revolt, signals that the tables have, in fact, turned.
At a time when Americans are pummeling pro-trans companies, the sports world has been working since January to put out the fires lit by defenseman Ivan Provorov. The Russian, who triggered a moral uprising across North American locker rooms by refusing to wear a Pride jersey, was the catalyst for a league-wide mutiny no one saw coming. In the months that followed, six teams decided to kill the rainbow gear altogether, and a steady drip of skaters and goalies opted out, creating a PR nightmare for the front office. By the end of the regular season, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman admitted that the league would have to reevaluate whether it would continue coercing players to wear a political message they personally opposed.
See the full article by Suzanne Bowdey, June 12, 2023