Arizona Coyotes' Travis Dermott Shows his Allyship, Defies NHL Ban on Pride Tape

Travis Dermott, a defenseman for National Hockey League team the Arizona Coyotes, is the first pro player to defy a ban from the NHL on Pride tape, displaying the rainbow-hued adhesive – which players have used to signal appreciation for their LGBTQ+ colleagues and fans – in an Oct. 22 match against the Anaheim Ducks, according to Yahoo! Sports.

His act of principled defiance "was widely lauded across the hockey world and the LGBTQ+ community," the report noted. Other players have vowed to do the same.

"You don't really want to go against rules that are put in place by your employer," Dermott told local news source gophnx, "but there's some people who took some positive things from it." Added the pro athlete: "That's kind of what I'm looking to impact."

Dermott went on to explain, "You want to have everyone feel included and that's something that I have felt passionate about for a long time in my career. It's not like I just jumped on this train. It's something that I've felt has been lacking in the hockey community for a while."

Dermott indicated the depth of his commitment to the idea of inclusion in his sport, saying, "From the outside, it's easy to see that I'm putting my career on the line for something. I definitely went through some emotional ups and downs that night, not regretting anything by any means, but I'd love to have maybe done a couple of steps a little different by making sure that everyone was aware of what was going on before I did it."

That commitment comes from personal connection to people the ban would directly affect by suggesting that hockey is not, in fact, for everyone.

Dermott told the news source, "I'd be lying if I said I haven't shed tears about this on multiple occasions," and, adding that he is "passionate about" the issue, he said that "sometimes when we get closer to people and get comfortable enough for them to open up to you, you can see that there's some pretty dark stuff happening to some good people. It doesn't take too many times encountering something like that for it to really change someone."

"You really see how people are hurting and it's because of a system that maybe no one's intentionally trying to be malicious about, but until you've really had that first-person experience seeing people hurting from it right in front of you, it's tough to kind of take steps," he said.

Dermott found institutional support from his team. The CEO and president of the Coyotes, Xavier Gutierrez, told gophnx, "We as an organization, first and foremost, respect and support our players' rights to express themselves as individuals."

"Second, I want to be very clear that as an organization, we remain steadfast in our support of the LGBTQ+ community," Gutierrez added. "We will continue with our efforts as an organization to not only support, but to celebrate that community in addition to all the other communities that we have been very focused on embracing, welcoming, extending our hands to and opening our doors."

As previously reported, the NHL handed down the ban earlier this month, following last season's controversies in which a handful of players refused to wear Pride-themed jerseys, citing their religious beliefs.

Concerns were also raised about players from homophobic countries like Russia, and whether their family members still living in such places would face retaliation if the players were to make any such gestures of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

Players, fans, and officials immediately condemned the ban. Brian Burke, once an executive with the league and currently the head of the PWHL Players Association, declared in a statement, "This is not inclusion or progress."

Added Burke: "Fans look to teams and the league to show they are welcome, and this directive closes a door that's been open for the last decade. Make no mistake, this is a surprising and serious setback."

Openly bisexual player Zach Sullivan of the Manchester Storm recently went after NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who issued the ban, calling the directive an "ill-informed, ridiculous, pretty spineless move from this commissioner, who doesn't have a great track record when it comes to this kind of thing."

Edmonton Oilers teammates Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman also spoke out against the ban, as did Morgan Reilly of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers alternate captain Scott Laughton, who swore to keep using Pride tape even if he had to purchase it himself.

Asked whether plans were in motion to subject Dermott to any sort of punishment, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly emailed the answer that "No timeline" for disciplinary action had been established. But, Daly added, the situation "Will be handled in due course."

"It would be a surprise if the league handed down any sort of punishment," gophnx noted. "The optics alone would add to the public relations damage that the original ban created."

Meanwhile, Dermott told the news outlet that he's in it for the long haul. "It's not like I'm shutting up and going away," the athlete said. "It's gay pride that we're talking about, but it could be men's health. It could be any war. It's just wanting world peace. Everyone's got to love each other a little bit more."

"Like my parents said growing up, 'How awesome would it be to be the guy that people look up to?' That's what really hit home when I was a kid, especially from my mom. You want to grow up and be that guy. You want to be the guy that's having the impact on kids like NHL players had on you. If they had been racist or bigoted, that's going to have an effect on you."