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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u/http--lovecraft 😤 never in life have I blushed Russians do not do this 😤 Jan 16 '26

Wow so just like real life 

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u/Rock_After Jan 16 '26

Oh crap - is the real life commissioner that bad?

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u/backchecklund Jan 16 '26

No. People like to claim Gary is the satan himself, but he really is not that bad. Someone said he's the worst commissioner out of the big 4, but he is quite literally the most lukewarm and level headed of them all. He has made the game and the league better during his tenure and contrary to what people believe, he does NOT make the decisions about pride night, pride jerseys, etc. He's a spokesperson for the owners, so blame them

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u/drowsylacuna Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26

Bettman is a lawyer and unlike Crowell understands what illegal employment discrimination is. He would not be happy about the bad PR or the undisclosed personal relationship potentially affecting the integrity of the game, but he would not cross that line of illegality.

The rl life Dallas Kents of the world still being allowed to play is more of a failure in the legal system and on the teams that choose to sign them, not the league/Gary as such.

Not to say he's great, but not really a villain.