Eric and Marc Staal did not participate in the Florida Panthers’ warm-up session on Thursday evening, since the players had to wear a jersey in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
The two brothers invoked religious reasons to justify their decision.
Several players have recently refused to take to the ice with a jersey in support of the community as part of NHL Pride Nights, including Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers, James Reimer of the San Jose Sharks and Nikita Zadorov of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Note that Russian goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky took part in the warm-up wearing the said jersey.