NHL to review Pride tape use by Coyotes’ Travis Dermott as possible violation of ban

[Llama19]

To quote:

"Less than a week before his team is scheduled to host the first Pride night of the NHL regular season, Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott has given league officials something to ponder.

On Saturday evening, Dermott became the first player to openly defy the NHL’s ban on using Pride tape this season when he wrapped the top of his stick with rainbow-colored tape during the club’s 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at Mullet Arena.

When asked if Dermott will face a fine or discipline for his actions, the NHL told The Athletic in a statement, “We will review it in due course.”"

Source: theathletic.com/4984404/2023/10/21/coyotes-travis-dermott-nhl-pride-tape/

Click to read more...

 

[No Fun Shogun]

The NHL has to be giving mere lip service about looking into this. They cannot possibly be so dumb to fine or otherwise punish a player for that. The optics of that would just be mind-numbingly dense.

 

[Yukon Joe]

I mean this is exactly what I wondered about when the NHL introduced this ban - are they ready for what happens when players go ahead and use rainbow tape against the ban?

By the way I saw we had a roll of rainbow tape in the garage the other day and put it on my stick - I f***ing hate it. Not because of the political message (which I'm fine with) I just hate how it looks.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

The NHL has to be giving mere lip service about looking into this. They cannot possibly be so dumb to fine or otherwise punish a player for that. The optics of that would just be mind-numbingly dense.

They ARE totally dumb and up their own asses, so don't underestimate them.

 

[GKJ]

The NHL has to be giving mere lip service about looking into this. They cannot possibly be so dumb to fine or otherwise punish a player for that. The optics of that would just be mind-numbingly dense.

The PR thing to do would be for players to defy the order and the NHL reverse course by saying they’re ignoring it.

 

[SirJW]

Coyotes' Dermott becomes 1st known NHLer to use Pride tape since ban

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott became the first known NHL player to defy the NHL's recent ban on using Pride tape on the ice.Dermott put the rainbow-colored tape on his stick's shaft for Saturday's 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Norm Hall / National Hockey League / GettyThe NHL plans...

www.thescore.com

 

[Stumbledore]

The NHL has to be giving mere lip service about looking into this. They cannot possibly be so dumb to fine or otherwise punish a player for that. The optics of that would just be mind-numbingly dense.

Apart from the "yes, the NHL can so be that dumb" response, I would expect that would simply announce a fine or sanction or penalty against a club for permitting an equipment violation. First office, small fine, more offences leading up something that stings.

EDIT: first office should have read 'first offence'.

 

[mouser]

Friendly mod reminder to keep discussion related to the business aspects of this topic if you want the thread to remain open.

 

[cole von cole]

I can't imagine it'll be long before the league backtracks on this

 

[TheLegend]

I’m wondering if this would even be a new thread if the player hadn’t been a member of the Coyotes.

Three inches worth of non black tape on the grip area of the stick shouldn’t be an issue except for all the wrong reasons.

What’s going to happen if a goalie decides to have a mask painted up with rainbow colors in salute to Skittles because he’s got the same addiction to them as Marshawn Lynch??

 

[daver]

Friendly mod reminder to keep discussion related to the business aspects of this topic if you want the thread to remain open.

I mean this is exactly what I wondered about when the NHL introduced this ban - are they ready for what happens when players go ahead and use rainbow tape against the ban?

By the way I saw we had a roll of rainbow tape in the garage the other day and put it on my stick - I f***ing hate it. Not because of the political message (which I'm fine with) I just hate how it looks.

Isn't the topic inherently political though?

If the league is trying to manage social/political messaging then they likely will issue a fine. I am sure there are lots of other ways for Dermott to show his support like making a very public donation to an NPO focused on LGBT issues. I am also sure that this topic should be far down the list of things that the media should be focusing on.

 

[TheLegend]

Isn't the topic inherently political though?

Under certain conditions yes. But we’re here to talk strictly about the business end of it.

If the league is trying to manage social/political messaging then they likely will issue a fine. I am sure there are lots of other ways for Dermott to show his support like making a very public donation to an NPO focused on LGBT issues. I am also sure that this topic should be far down the list of things that the media should be focusing on.

I’m sure many teams will do something to support the various causes outside of game times. I know the Coyotes are planning to. If I understood Coyotes CEO Xavier Gutierrez correctly the other day they will be doing something that includes specialty jerseys. It just won’t be mandatory for players to be part of it.

Because you don’t need to make it a game time promotion and end up forcing players to do something they feel extremely uncomfortable doing.

 

[daver]

Under certain conditions yes. But we’re here to talk strictly about the business end of it.

That's kind of the point though. Sports entertainment has nothing to do with politics therefore there is no business end to it.

If the topic is should a professional sports league allow for political discourse then that was likely exhausted in the last thread on this same topic with a general feeling that it is likely not in their best interests as it needlessly takes away from their on-ice\on-field product.

Players are free to leverage their public stature in ways outside their profession to further a political/personal agenda.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

That's kind of the point though. Sports entertainment has nothing to do with politics therefore there is no business end to it.

If the topic is should a professional sports league allow for political discourse then that was likely exhausted in the last thread on this same topic with a general feeling that it is likely not in their best interests as it needlessly takes away from their on-ice\on-field product.

Players are free to leverage their public stature in ways outside their profession to further a political/personal agenda.

Unfortunately, this is blatantly wrong. Sports competition has always had a political component.

I don't like it any more than you do but it's true.

 

[daver]

Unfortunately, this is blatantly wrong. Sports competition has always had a political component.

I don't like it any more than you do but it's true.

Not sure what you are referring to.

We are talking about a business that promotes sports competition to the public in the hope of getting enough people to buy the product to make it viable. The politics associated with it would be those government policies that directly connected to it like anti-trust, safety etc.

Making something political is a choice that the NHL seemingly is not trying to do.

 

[Johnny Rifle]

From a business perspective the best way to address this issue is to find out which solution turns off the least number of people.

I’d say unban the tape at the top of the stick for gameplay where it isn’t a safety issue and ban it on the blade.

Besides, to bring up TheLegend’s point, what stops a goalie from putting a pride flag on his mask?

The best solution is to make the team components like a jersey strict and the accessories more of an individual thing.

No solution is perfect, but the idea is to put as little pressure on players to participate while allowing other players the freedom to be as individual as possible.

 

[Tawnos]

Not sure what you are referring to.

We are talking about a business that promotes sports competition to the public in the hope of getting enough people to buy the product to make it viable. The politics associated with it would be those government policies that directly connected to it like anti-trust, safety etc.

Making something political is a choice that the NHL seemingly is not trying to do.

Probably referring to Jackie Robinson, the Miracle on Ice, defections of Soviets to the West, Mike Piazza's homerun, and myriad other examples of politics intersecting with sports. Sports isn't just a competition put out for the purpose of making money (as much as owners and some fans would like it to be). It's also reflection of society and you can't entirely divorce a society from its politics. It's been that way forever. It's impossible for this issue on the broad level to not be political, but we don't need to discuss the broad level... that's the point of the mods putting that restriction here.

The Business of Hockey, and other sports, is not limited to the way leagues and teams look to generate revenue. It also involves how the league runs its business and the implications of that on the interaction between players or players' union and the league, including how the league might enforce its rules. That's where this story becomes a BoH story.

I don't see how the league is going to be able to enforce this rule without a challenge from the union. Whether or not they'd win a challenge from the union is something I really can't predict.

 

[norrisnick]

Probably referring to Jackie Robinson, the Miracle on Ice, defections of Soviets to the West, Mike Piazza's homerun, and myriad other examples of politics intersecting with sports. Sports isn't just a competition put out for the purpose of making money (as much as owners and some fans would like it to be). It's also reflection of society and you can't entirely divorce a society from its politics. It's been that way forever. It's impossible for this issue on the broad level to not be political, but we don't need to discuss the broad level... that's the point of the mods putting that restriction here.

The Business of Hockey, and other sports, is not limited to the way leagues and teams look to generate revenue. It also involves how the league runs its business and the implications of that on the interaction between players or players' union and the league, including how the league might enforce its rules. That's where this story becomes a BoH story.

I don't see how the league is going to be able to enforce this rule without a challenge from the union. Whether or not they'd win a challenge from the union is something I really can't predict.

If I'm an annoyed enough player and the league doubles down on the tape ban I bring up motion to have personalized goalie masks (plenty of "political" messages on those), all jewelry, and especially advertising on uniforms/helmets also be prohibited.

 

[daver]

Probably referring to Jackie Robinson, the Miracle on Ice, defections of Soviets to the West, Mike Piazza's homerun, and myriad other examples of politics intersecting with sports. Sports isn't just a competition put out for the purpose of making money (as much as owners and some fans would like it to be). It's also reflection of society and you can't entirely divorce a society from its politics. It's been that way forever. It's impossible for this issue on the broad level to not be political, but we don't need to discuss the broad level... that's the point of the mods putting that restriction here.

The Business of Hockey, and other sports, is not limited to the way leagues and teams look to generate revenue. It also involves how the league runs its business and the implications of that on the interaction between players or players' union and the league, including how the league might enforce its rules. That's where this story becomes a BoH story.

I don't see how the league is going to be able to enforce this rule without a challenge from the union. Whether or not they'd win a challenge from the union is something I really can't predict.

Those were on-ice/on-field occurrences with political/societal implications. Not the same as choosing to allow symbols.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

The NHL has to be giving mere lip service about looking into this. They cannot possibly be so dumb to fine or otherwise punish a player for that. The optics of that would just be mind-numbingly dense.

I joked one time that a certain prominent figure was so stupid and overconfident that they’d stare at a solar eclipse. They then did the thing I though so monstrously stupid as to be outside their reach.

Point is, never doubt the power of the echo chambers these dudes create, nor the sheer ego of the dude at the top. The nhl has a tendency to f*** things up as badly as possible, generally speaking, so stay tuned. I’d think this outta reach myself, but maybe some moron thinks it’ll attract new fans from yada yada..

 

[Masked]

The NHL needs to punish Dermott. He basically gave the league the finger by doing this. There's lots of interesting things to talk about the league right now and the news stories are dominated about something as silly as hockey tape?

 

[Tawnos]

If I'm an annoyed enough player and the league doubles down on the tape ban I bring up motion to have personalized goalie masks (plenty of "political" messages on those), all jewelry, and especially advertising on uniforms/helmets also be prohibited.

Yeah where exactly is the line? The Leafs had (have?) as a jersey sponsor Dairy Farmers of Ontario. What happens when a Leafs player is an animal rights activist who has problems with the dairy industry (as many do).

Those were on-ice/on-field occurrences with political/societal implications. Not the same as choosing to allow symbols.

That’s just a matter of degree, and not an especially meaningful one to me.

 

[DuklaNation]

I think anything that distracts from the game should be removed. I just find it hard to watch some games with that digital puck on the board ads rolling across a big screen TV. And I don't really care to know various player's political stances.

 

[red devil]

 

[TheOne]

Unfortunately, this is blatantly wrong. Sports competition has always had a political component.

I don't like it any more than you do but it's true.

I'd like to refer anyone with an enquiring mind to an excellent book titled "Freedom To Win" by Ethan Scheiner. A very true story of a Cold War political battle that was fought on the ice between the Soviet Union and the soviet invaded Czechoslovakia for Olympic gold. A hockey tournament that made an inescapably stunning political statement.

Love it or hate it, sports, and hockey is no exception, absolutely has a political component.