AS I SEE IT COLUMN: James Reimer’s Pride snub a black eye for him and the NHL

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/03/2023 (825 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was bad enough when a member of the New York Rangers invoked his Russian Orthodox religion as his reason for refusing to wear a Pride-themed jersey during a warmup. Remember that the Russian Orthodox church gave its blessing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine partly because Ukraine held Pride parades. Apparently that religion is okay with murder, wanton destruction, rape, torture and stealing children, but not okay with parades that promote acceptance and inclusion.

But when someone from your province and from your heritage also chooses to use his religious beliefs to promote the “othering” of the LGBTQ+ community, that stings a lot more.

James Reimer, a practicing Mennonite from Morweena, Man., who now plays for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL, recently refused to wear a Pride-themed jersey during a 15-minute warm-up. (Those jerseys were auctioned off after the game, with the proceeds going to a local adolescent counselling service.)

He wasn’t asked to take photos with anyone; he wasn’t asked to make any statement; he wasn’t asked to endorse anyone or anything. He was simply asked to wear a warm-up jersey with Pride colours and a crest with the phrase “Love Wins.”

Reimer said he wouldn’t wear the jersey because he chose “not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions, which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in life.”

NHL executive Brian Burke, who was Reimer’s boss when he played in Toronto, was very disappointed in his former player:

“I wish players would understand that the Pride sweaters are about inclusion and welcoming everybody. A player wearing Pride colors or tape isn’t endorsing a set of values or enlisting in a cause! He is saying you are welcome here. And you are, in every single NHL building.”

Reimer’s teammate and Sharks captain Logan Couture said this about Reimer being the only player to refuse to wear the Pride jersey: “Every individual has a choice and he made his. The rest of us are going to be wearing the jersey. I think this organization sees this as an extremely important night. And I think a lot of guys in the room are very excited to go out and wear the jersey and celebrate it.”

Why is it so often that it is born-again Christians who are the most intolerant and least accepting among us? Given the core teachings of the New Testament and the life of Christ, shouldn’t they be the most tolerant and the most accepting among us?

Reimer’s excuse, that he “always strived to treat everyone with respect,” made no sense at all.

It’s painful to point this out, because even a young child in elementary school would be able to discern how hollow and meaningless Reimer’s lame defense was, because you can’t say “you treat everyone with respect” and then do something that makes it abundantly clear that you do not, in fact, treat everyone with respect.

Reimer dug his hole deeper when he attempted to justify not wearing the Pride jersey because he said he “loved” former teammate Nazim Kadri, who is Muslim, even though Reimer is a Christian.

Sorry James, free speech allows you to say whatever you want, but your “I can’t be homophobic because I have a Muslim friend” defense is complete nonsense.

The depressing thing is that Reimer had a glorious chance to live his faith, by showing that he truly does accept and respect everyone by simply wearing a jersey for 15 minutes; instead he squandered it. He could have held out an olive branch to a marginalized community. Wearing the Pride jersey would have been the Christ-like thing to do. Reimer’s actions could have said “you are loved, you are accepted and those that hate you are wrong.” Reimer’s actions could have aligned with his words. Reimer’s actions could have matched Jesus’ actions. The Jesus he worships spent his entire adult life with the marginalized, and Reimer couldn’t wear a jersey for 15 minutes?

His religious beliefs are such that the slogan “Love Wins” was too much for him and that’s where he draws the line in the theological sand? Really?

Reimer has played 11 seasons in the NHL on four different teams (Toronto, Florida, Carolina and San Jose).

In all those years I don’t ever recall Reimer refusing to wear military-themed jerseys during any warm-ups. In war, people kill other people. One would think that if Reimer was true to his Mennonite roots and beliefs – of which pacifism is a core tenet – that his conscience would forbid him from wearing a military warmup jersey.

So Reimer seemingly is okay with warfare, death and destruction but not okay accepting others who are different than he is? Why doesn’t Reimer take a principled stand against military jerseys? Does he not believe in the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill”?

The NHL must either stop allowing players and teams to make a mockery of the league’s desire to appear accepting and inclusive and its “hockey is for everyone” slogan (some now derisively refer to the NHL as the National Homophobic League), and fine teams and players who refuse to wear Pride jerseys in warmups, or the league must officially drop the pretense of being accepting of everyone and stop using a slogan that some of their teams and players refuse to follow. They can’t have it both ways.

The unfortunate thing is that Reimer and other conservatives who use their religious beliefs to judge and exclude others instead of showing love and acceptance, seem to believe in a verse that I can’t find anywhere in the Bible: “Love thy neighbour as thyself, but only if they are straight.”