A hockey team has told anti-LGBTQ fans to kiss off after some complained about the team putting rainbow colors on its logo to show support for the queer community.
The Kalamazoo Wings, a mid-level professional ice hockey team from Michigan, held a 2023 Pride Night for queer fans on January 13. To mark the occasion, the team replaced its logo on its social media accounts with one bearing the colors of the Progress Pride flag.
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Soon after, a self-identified ‘old-school conservative MAGA Republican’ Twitter user named Davey Todd wrote, “As long as you have this as your logo, you won’t be seeing my family at your games.”
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The team responded to Todd’s tweet with an emoji of a hand making a peace sign, as if to say “Peace out. You won’t be missed.” Daaaaaang.
The team followed up with a GIF of David Rose, the pansexual character from Schitt’s Creek, making a disapproving face and saying, “Excuse me, I am sensing a tinge of disrespect here.”
— Kalamazoo Wings (@KalamazooWings) January 12, 2023
Wow. A Liberal at the controls of Wings Twitter account is gonna send me off to be a Comet fan! Who the hell gave you this job anyway?
Instead of drag queens reading 2 children, why don't we have farmers, veterans, firemen, police officers, and not worry what they do at night??
— Davey Todd (@Davey_Todd) January 13, 2023
In response, Todd blamed “a Liberal at the controls of Wings Twitter account” and added, “Instead of drag queens reading 2 children, why don’t we have farmers, veterans, firemen, police officers…”
Well… that’s certainly… (cough) a response?
The Wings also gave the peace sign emoji to another Twitter user who said they wouldn’t be watching their Pride Night game.
But while the team’s Pride Night and rainbow logo are pretty neat, even neater is the fact that the team dyed their rink’s ice in rainbow colors too. The team apparently re-colors the ice for St. Patrick’s Day and other notable occasions.
? History! Take ??#hockeyisforeveryone pic.twitter.com/myQMdpSD7F
— Kalamazoo Wings (@KalamazooWings) January 10, 2023
It’s especially cool that the Wings give a puck about the LGBTQ community (see what we did there?) right now since professional hockey player Ivan Provorov recently rebelled against wearing a rainbow jersey during the Pride Night hosted by his team, the Philadelphia Flyers.
Provorov’s coach and the National Hockey League (NHL) both respected the player’s decision not to participate. Last year, five Tampa Bay Rays players refused to wear a rainbow logo on their uniform for their team’s Pride Night as well.
Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler points out that North America has yet to have an active or retired hockey player publicly come out. Considering that the NHL believes “Hockey is for Everyone”, the recognition of hockey teams like the Wings helps queer fans and players feel more supported on the ice.
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scotty
c’mon now Mike Bossy was obviously gay.
Altaclipper
Luke Prokop.