Sharks To Wear Pride Night Jerseys, But Will Everyone Wear Them?

There was a key detail not mentioned in the San Jose Sharks’ Sharks Pride Night announcement yesterday.

“During pregame warm-ups, Sharks players will wear jerseys with crest and patch artwork specific for Sharks Pride Night and designed by local artist Houyee Chow.”

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The obvious question: Does that mean every San Jose Sharks player will wear a Pride jersey?

“I honestly haven’t thought about that yet,” head coach David Quinn said this morning. “I’m not trying to belittle it. But it’s a couple of games away. We’re getting ready for Columbus [tonight].”

That’s…not a yes.

This has become a flashpoint since Ivan Provorov, citing his Russian Orthodox religious beliefs, chose not to wear a Pride warm-up jersey during the Philadelphia Flyers’ Pride Night in January.

Quinn added, on if the Sharks’ locker room has had a team-wide discussion about Pride Night, “We haven’t had a discussion yet. It’s a topic that people want to talk about, and I understand that. We feel good about supporting the community. [But] obviously, people have choices to make, and that’s what makes America special.”

In fairness to Quinn, it’s not his job to speak for every individual player, and he demonstrated what he felt about Sharks Pride Night by taking part yesterday in a friendly game between Sharks employees and local LGBTQ+ adult hockey team, the San Francisco Earthquakes.

In honor of our upcoming Pride Night, members of Team Teal took on the @SFQuakes in a friendly scrimmage tonight!

The Earthquakes are a LGBTQ+ friendly coed team whose goal is to play inclusive hockey. 🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/c1mgvMn0wS

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) March 14, 2023

“I want to support everybody that plays hockey,” Quinn said about the event. “That’s what makes America great. Inclusion and acceptance is what this country has been built on for centuries. I think we have a responsibility as professional athletes and coaches to support that.”

Anyway, it appears that the Sharks will be allowing their individual players to decide whether they don the Sharks Pride Night warm-up jerseys.

I hope we have nothing to talk about Saturday, except what a fantastic Pride Night that the San Jose Sharks put on. But we’ll see!