The San Jose Sharks recently hosted a Pride Night celebration, as nearly all professional sports teams have done. Moreover, they tweeted pride-themed information throughout the game. Yet this was not enough to please the ungrateful mob that constitutes the hard-core activists in the LGBTQ community. You see, one player, Sharks goalie James Reimer, declined to don a rainbow-colored jersey, citing his “religious beliefs.”

What a cop-out, right? What a coward! Who the hell does he think he is? How does he think he has the right to his own convictions, beliefs-- and freedom of religion? What would give him that idea, especially now? Surely he should be summarily shamed into repenting-- and apologizing-- for not being coerced into proclaiming the LGBTQ community to be more equal than any other. After all, almost every other person and entity in the Western world has been systemically cowed into doing just that. Why should he be any different? It’s maddening, really, his insubordination.  

Sarcasm aside, why should anyone be forced to wear apparel touting any specific group? Why should a professional athlete be mandated to wear a jersey celebrating any group other than the team for which he or she plays? Yet, Reimer-- and a handful of other NHL players who have chosen not to wear pride-themed jerseys this season-- have been the victims of vitriolic attacks from many of those who otherwise routinely plead for “acceptance,” “tolerance,” and “inclusion.” Transgender activists, in particular, can be brutal to those who have the audacity to believe in the existence or primacy of just two sexes or genders. When these folks (figuratively) smell blood in the water, they make the most aggressive sharks look tame and timid in comparison.

So, should players be expected-- or even forced-- to wear a heterosexual-themed jersey if and when their team hosts a Heterosexual Pride Night? Should they be expected to don a jersey celebrating Catholic Pride? Capricorn Pride? Vegan Pride? Minor-attracted persons Pride? Conservative Republican Pride? How about “Polyamorous Pride?” “Jewish Pride?” “Canuck Pride?”

Or perhaps a jersey sporting the message, “White Lives Matter?”

 If not, they shouldn’t be criticized for opting not to wear an LGBTQ-themed one, either.

Period.

Photo credit: YouTube screengrab