Wild players dont wear Pride jerseys for teams Pride Night

Minnesota Wild players did not wear Pride jerseys during warmup as scheduled for the team’s annual Pride Night game Tuesday night. According to the team, players were scheduled to wear rainbow-colored jerseys for the team’s game against the Calgary Flames, in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. The jerseys even appeared in a since-deleted post on the Wild’s auction website.

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“Part of the themed game programming includes custom-designed Wild Pride jerseys worn by the team during pre-game warmups,” the post on the auction site said before it was removed. “The custom warmup jerseys will be signed and auctioned off starting March 7.”

The team released the following statement: “The Minnesota Wild organization is proud to continue our support of the LGBTQIA+ community by hosting our second annual Pride Night tonight, which we are celebrating in many ways. It is important to host nights like this to show all players, fans, and the LGBTQIA+ community that hockey is for everyone. We will continue to utilize our platform to strengthen our community and create a greater state of hockey.”

Jack Jablonski, wearing the 2023 #mnwild Pride jersey with “Jabs” patch, doing Let’s Play Hockey. Here’s my story on Jabs coming out in September >>https://t.co/JKeIACpzvo pic.twitter.com/ANrVsMbsVw

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 8, 2023

During warmup, several players donned rainbow-colored tape on their sticks. Pride-themed pucks were also used during warmup. Jack Jablonski, a Minnesota hockey icon from St. Louis Park, who is an advocate for spinal cord injuries, led the “Let’s Play Hockey” pregame tradition, wearing the Wild’s Pride-themed jersey.

This is the second time the Wild are hosting a Pride night. Wild players, including Jon Merrill and his wife, Jessica Molina, are donating tickets to the QUEERSPACE Collective, an organization that “creates space for LGBTQ+ youth to feel safe and empowered to be their true selves.” The Wild are also donating in-arena suites to Twin Cities Pride, the Twin Cities Queer Hockey Association and Team Trans as part of their Pride night initiatives.

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(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)

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