Andrei Kuzmenko refuses to wear Pride Night jersey and cites new reason

Are you even surprised by now?

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently commentary on the latest spate of players refusing to don Pride Night jerseys. But it did not stop Canucks’ Andrei Kuzmenko to refuse to wear the Pride jersey for tonight’s celebrations in Vancouver.

According to head coach Rich Tocchet, Kuzmenko made his choice with his family’s input. A different statement than previous religious beliefs, but it remains that Kuzmenko is from /, Russia.

Last week, Florida Panthers brothers Eric and Marc Staal said they wouldn’t don the jerseys — citing their Christian beliefs. Buffalo’s defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin did no participating in warmups this weekend when the Sabres welcome the Montreal Canadiens.  San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer had previously stated he wouldn’t wear the jersey because it went against his Christian beliefs as well.

The Chicago Blackhawks opted as a team not to wear their jerseys last week, saying they didn’t want to subject their Russian players to new laws in that country prohibiting LGBTQ+ “propaganda.”

The New York Rangers, Islanders and Minnesota Wild also canceled plans to wear the jerseys in past weeks. It all started back in January when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Proporov cited his Russian Orthodox beliefs for skipping warmups instead of wearing the jersey.

This even got Bettman wondering if the league should consider canceling Pride Nights in the NHL.

“Overwhelmingly, our league and our teams support Pride Night,” Bettman said, per the Seattle Times. “Overwhelmingly, our players support it. But there are some players — not most, far from it — that have made personal decisions and personal choices and you have to respect that.”

And so, Kuzmenko is added to the list and will not take part in warmups tonight in Vancouver.

Recommended articles:

• Report: NHL looking at cancelling Pride Night celebrations
• Yet another NHL player opts out of Pride celebrations
• Ilya Lyubushkin refuses to wear a Pride jersey on Monday night.
• Brian Burke calls out NHL players who refuse to participate in Pride Night.
• Connor McDavid makes strong statement about Pride Night in the NHL