New York Rangers ditch wearing LGBTQ-themed warmup jerseys on Pride Night

The New York Rangers haven’t been able to explain why they didn’t follow through on their promise to wear LGBTQ-themed jerseys before they hit the ice for ‘Pride Night Friday’ at Madison Square Garden.

After wearing rainbow-themed warm-up jerseys for the past several years, the Rangers opted not to skate in a similar outfit this year, nor did they wear rainbow-colored headbands as in previous years.

This is despite publicity that the team would, and comes after the Philadelphia Flyers chose to freeze a skater who was the only one not to wear a rainbow jersey to their pride night.

Rainbow colored lights at Madison Square Garden to celebrate Gay Pride Night last year

Igor Shesterkin #31 of the Rangers wears a special jersey in honor of Pride Night two years ago

In a statement to DailyMail.com, the Rangers said: “Our organization respects the LGBTQ+ community and we are proud to draw attention to important local community organizations as part of another great Pride Night.”

“In keeping with our organization’s core values, we support everyone’s individual right to respectfully express their beliefs.”

The Rangers had some notable recognitions from the LGBTQ+ community during the game.

Members of the Rangers Blue Crew use special flags during Pride Night in January 2022

The team had Andre Thomas, co-chairman of NYC Pride, participate in the ceremonial delivery of the record. They also announced that they were making a donation to the Ali Forney Center, which helps homeless LGBTQ+ youth.

However, he did not manage to participate in the most visible of the evening through the shirts and the tape. In previous years, the rainbow jerseys were auctioned off for charity.

An unidentified player told the New York Post that he, “just saw Lady Liberty’s normal jersey hanging in her locker and didn’t know why the Rangers didn’t wear the originally planned warm-ups.”

Zac Jones #6 of the Rangers skates with a decorated stick for ‘Pride Night’ on May 3, 2021

The backlash was swift and comes just weeks after the Philadelphia Flyers hosted a Pride Night at the Wells Fargo Center. All the players took to the ice wearing rainbow-colored warm-up jerseys, except defenseman Ivan Provorov.

“I respect everyone’s choices,” Provorov said after clocking 23 minutes in the Flyers’ 5-2 win over visiting Anaheim. ‘My choice is to remain true to myself and my religion. That is all what I am going to say.

Coach John Tortorella defended Provorov, saying the Russian defender “was true to himself and his religion.”

“It’s one thing I respect about Provy, he’s always true to himself,” Tortorella said.

The New York Rangers ditched the use of LGBTQ-themed warm-up jerseys at Pride Night Friday. The team defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1