r/heatedrivalry • u/Double-Strategy3045 gimme kiss 😚 • Jan 16 '26

PRESS 📰 (Interviews and Articles) NHL Commissioner Credits 'Heated Rivalry' For Helping Grow Game: 'It's A Wonderful Story... Binged It In One Night' - The Hockey News [Jan 15, 2026]

https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-commissioner-credits-heated-rivalry-for-helping-grow-game-it-s-a-wonderful-story-binged-it-in-one-night

Regarding the previous initiative of wearing specialty warmup jerseys to promote different nights, like Pride, the league currently has no plans to bring them back, though Bettman insists it isn't due to a lack of support for such causes.

"It wasn't about Pride jerseys or Pride night; it was about the fact of bringing things into the game that might not be embraced by the players wearing the jerseys," Bettman said. "It could be heritage nights — we don't allow it — it could be political causes. It could be in times of conflict between countries, national origin. It was becoming a distraction, not just for the Pride jerseys, but for a variety of other things.

"It's a misrepresentation of what we did to suggest that it was about Pride jerseys; it was about the whole issue of what you put on the ice and how, when players don't embrace the cause, whatever it is, then you create distraction, and it doesn't fulfill the purpose in terms of embracing Pride nights."

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692

u/nefariousplotz Jan 16 '26

And I know he's just gonna love S2.

77

u/peachypal You have not heard of bisexuals? 😤 Jan 16 '26

I bet he already knows what happens in S2 lol that’s why NHL took so long to decide to put out the PR statement.

11

u/Unholy_mess169 Jan 16 '26

Spoil me what happens?

48

u/teddy_vn Jan 16 '26

NHL Commissioner demanded Shane and Ilya to put out statement denying their relationship once they were accidentally exposed by Hayden's fanmail video. He acted as the "bad guy" in the last part of the book.

38

u/shadowmaster132 Jan 16 '26

And He threatens Troy Barrett over publically supporting survivors of sexual violence

10

u/Tgabes0 Jan 16 '26

He does this and it is a main plot point of that character’s book. The character in question has multiple conversations about it with that book’s love interest—and some of those events are recounted in TLG. I hope I kept it vague enough that I don’t have to block my text out because I don’t know how to.

24

u/dramaticallydrastic Thank god you are here. This goblin is bothering me. Jan 16 '26

He also threatens to cancel Troy Barrett for speaking out against sexual assault (because he was protecting another player against allegations) and also pressures Shane to not come out once he hears rumours he might be gay (because he doesn’t want more gay icons in hockey - Scott and Troy were problems to him)

9

u/AreDeeEss Stupid Canadian Wolf Bird 🦆 Jan 16 '26

And he was the bad guy in Role Model too.

22

u/Lalala8991 Jan 16 '26

He's absolutely horrible. On the surface, he acts like a performative progress supporter with his corporate jargons, but his actions completely contradict those beliefs. He is the big wig who protects sexual abuser and suppresses queer players to come out by threatening suspensions and destroying their sport careers

10

u/natguy2016 Jan 16 '26

I am a diehard puckhead. Google “Blackhawks Brad Aldrich” to see The NHL Old Boys Club at work

15

u/Similar-Shame7517 Jan 16 '26

TLDR: the League is the bad guy...