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Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov remained in the locker room while his teammates took to the ice for their pre-game warmup against the Anaheim Ducks.
The reason? The Flyers organization was celebrating “Pride Night” and Provorov’s faith does not permit him to remain faithful to God while affirming homosexuality.
“I respect everybody, and I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion,” Provorov said.
As a member of the Russian Orthodox church, Provorov decided instead to stay off the ice and not hinder others’ celebrations.
His decision not to impede others’ beliefs drew sports headlines across the country as modern-day sports journalists decried his decision.
Flyers head coach John Tortorella supported Provorov’s decision to “stay true to himself.”
“I think the organization has sent out a release regarding the organization, the beliefs that we have, and how we feel about it, on a really great night. With Provy, he’s being true to himself and to his religion. This has to do with his belief and his religion. That’s one thing I respect about Provy – he’s always true to himself. So that’s where we’re at with that.”
The Flyers organization, which has a strong past of supporting LGBTQ events, also released a statement reaffirming their continued support of “inclusivity”:
“The Philadelphia Flyers organization is committed to inclusivity and is proud to support the local LGBTQ+ community,” the statement said. “Many of our players are active in their support of local LGBTQ+ organizations, and we were proud to host our annual Pride Night again this year. The Flyers will continue to be strong advocates for inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community.”
Provorov’s decision unsurprisingly brought out the digital activists posing as sports journalists who tried to paint this display of faith as bigotry.
Ivan Provorov was allowed to play in a game for the Philadelphia Flyers – the organization that was the first to say that you will be removed from the arena if you utter a homophobic slur – after refusing to wear a Pride logo for warm ups.
What an absolute disgrace.
— Steph Driver (@StephaliciousD) January 18, 2023
It’s never been about tolerating the lifestyle, it’s about fully supporting and affirming it—or else.
NHL executives shifting sharply to the left and its ideologies has been increasing in recent months as well.
From hosting a transgender hockey game that saw a biological male brutally injure a biological female (but the media reported it as a woman hitting a man) to getting called out by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for trying to hold a “discriminatory” job fair, fans can only expect more of this vitriol coming from social media activists who hold no tolerance for anyone who believes differently than they do.
This type of division and intolerance of faith has continued to increase as American society becomes more secular and strays further from the unity found in the love of God.
As professing Christian faith continues to clash with modern culture, having as strong a faith as Provorov has displayed will be mandatory from believers to continue being a light to a dark world that so desperately needs it. {eoa}
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
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