{"id":888,"date":"2023-01-19T13:31:22","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T14:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/?p=888"},"modified":"2025-06-20T10:53:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T10:53:13","slug":"hockey-pundit-wants-russian-player-kicked-out-of-us-after-lgbt-snub-video-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/19\/hockey-pundit-wants-russian-player-kicked-out-of-us-after-lgbt-snub-video-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Hockey pundit wants Russian player kicked out of US after LGBT snub (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ivan Provorov declined to wear a Pride-themed jersey in a pre-game warmup<\/strong><\/p>\n

A prominent NHL analyst has called upon Philadelphia Flyers star Ivan Provorov to return to Russia if he cannot accept American ideals, after he snubbed the team’s Pride-themed celebrations this week.<\/p>\n

Provorov, 26, declined to take part in a pre-game warmup this week in which his teammates wore rainbow colors on their jerseys, telling the media afterwards that while he “respect[s] everybody and respect[s] everybody’s choices<\/em>” he chose not to do so because it clashed with his religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

“My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say<\/em>,” he added after his side’s 5-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks, in which he played around 23 minutes.<\/p>\n

Provorov’s stance was respected by his coach, John Tortorella, who said that if would be “unfair<\/em>” to penalize the player due to his beliefs and added that he admired the Russian for “always [being] true to himself<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

The Flyers did not reference the player during a statement following the game, saying only that they “will continue to be strong advocates for inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

But one figure who didn’t back Provorov’s freedom of expression was NHL senior analyst E.J. Hradek, who said on a broadcast on Wednesday that he should return to Russia if he is unprepared to support Western ideologies.<\/p>\n

\n

NHL analyst says on the NHL Network! that if Philly Flyers Provorov doesn\u2019t want to wear a pro-LBGTQ uniform he should leave America, go back to Russia, and fight in the war against Ukraine. The tolerant left! Holy shit: pic.twitter.com\/wWLFBy2stC<\/a><\/p>\n

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Ivan Provorov can get on a plane any day he wants and go back to a place where he feels more comfortable, take less money and get on with his life that way if it’s that problematic for him<\/em>,” Hradek said.<\/p>\n

“If this is that much of a problem for him, to maybe assimilate into his group of teammates, and in the community and here in this country, that’s OK. Listen, you can feel any way you want.<\/em><\/p>\n

“But the beauty is, if it bothers you that much, there’s always a chance to leave, go back to where you feel more comfortable – I understand there’s a conflict of sorts going on over there, maybe get involved<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

However, in their own statement on the matter the NHL disavowed any criticism towards Provorov for staying true to his own beliefs.<\/p>\n

In their own statement, the NHL said that players have the ultimate authority when it comes to which causes they choose to support.<\/p>\n

“Clubs decide whom to celebrate, when and how – with League counsel and support. Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues<\/em>,” it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ivan Provorov declined to wear a Pride-themed jersey in a pre-game warmup A prominent NHL analyst has called upon Philadelphia Flyers star Ivan Provorov to return to Russia if he cannot accept American ideals, after he snubbed the team’s Pride-themed celebrations this week. Provorov, 26, declined to take part in a pre-game warmup this week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":891,"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions\/891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegacelis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}