As a result of Travis Dermott using Pride Tape during the Coyotes game on Saturday, the NHL has reversed its policy on representing social causes.
Arizona Coyotes defenceman Travis Dermott used Pride Tape on the shaft of his hockey stick to show support for the LGBTQ+ community during Saturday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Now Dermott’s statement is leading to change.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL, NHLPA and NHL Player Inclusion Coalition have agreed that players will have the option to represent social causes with stick tape throughout the season.
Prior to the start of this season, the NHL decided to ban players from using pride tape. Despite all of this, Dermott still felt that it was necessary to use pride tape in order to make sure everyone feels included in the game of hockey.
“You want to have everyone feel included and that’s something that I have felt passionate about for a long time in my career,” Dermott said via PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan. “It’s not like I just just jumped on this train. It’s something that I’ve felt has been lacking in the hockey community for a while. I feel like we need supporters of a movement like this; to have everyone feel included and really to beat home the idea that hockey is for everyone.”
Many fans came to the defense and supported what Dermott did following Saturday’s game as he continues to bring awareness to LGBTQ issues.
Dermott has been an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community for a long time now and is ready to continue his endless support.
“I don’t want to put my teammates or my coaches or my GMs or the equipment managers in any kind of bad light when it’s their job to kind of look out for something like this happening,” Dermott said. “It was definitely something that I did just by myself and was prepared to kind of deal with whatever repercussions the league decides to push towards that. I’m not going to back off and say that this battle is won, but we’re going to find better ways to do it.”