No ribbons? Dont'hide behind religion!

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to take a pregame skate Tuesday night in the team's LGBTQ+ warmup jersey, citing his preference "to stay true to myself and my religion," which is Russian Orthodox. "I respect everyone. I respect everybody's choices," said the only player who refused to participate in Pride Night.

You can imagine the hysterics Provorov's apostasy sparked among the enlightened sports commentariat. TSN's Pierre LeBrun claimed Provorov "obviously does not respect 'everyone.' If he did respect everyone, he would have taken part in warm-up and worn the Pride Night jersey. Don't hide behind religion."

The "don't hide behind religion" jibe is one of the dumbest and laziest smears going. It's a favorite of bullies who act like they can bore into the souls of the heretics. It's bad enough that LeBrun contends that the only possible reason someone might be disinclined to celebrate same-sex marriage or the sweeping "+" (I wonder if Lebrun could coherently explain what it means?) is deep-seated bigotry. But when these amateur theologians declare that dissenters are "hiding" behind faith, they're not only arguing that religion is a mask for bigotry but that no genuine faith could possibly have a problem with the cultural norms he adopted about five minutes ago.

Of course, many orthodox faiths, not only Russians but Orthodox Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Lutherans and so on, believe same-sex relationships are sinful. Their adherents have believed that for centuries, if not millennia. A person of good faith can "respect" others — they can even respect people for taking a stance — without celebrating their choices. In a truly open and diverse society, we don't demand everyone abandon their tradition and critical thinking to skate lockstep in a rainbow flag. Dear Lord, it's such vacuous virtue signaling.

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Because it shouldn't be forgotten that the LGBTQ+ movement encompasses an entire open-ended ideological agenda, not merely the ability of gay people to live in peace or marry. Some of the other Flyers, for instance, spent time celebrating the achievements of a "nonbinary" 13-year-old. As old-fashioned atheist, I don't care who you sleep with, but I do still cling to the antiquated notion that humans have immutable biological characteristics and that objective truths can't be wished away. To my mind, that 13-year-old kid is a victim of an irrational, destructive and trendy pseudoscience. Yet folks like LeBrun will help normalize the quackery while hiding behind the idea of "tolerance."

Most of the National Hockey League press also groused that hypocrite coach John Tortorella, a long-time figure in the NHL, hadn't suspended Provorov for his sins. As coach of the U.S. national team, Tortorella once threatened anyone who refused to stand for the national anthem with a benching (a stance he regrettably reversed). The obvious difference is that those players weren't asked to endorse the lifestyle choices of strangers but were voluntarily representing the United States — and every person in it — at international tournaments. That so many people are unable to distinguish between the act of honoring your country and celebrating who people sleep with says a lot about how warped our values have become.

Indeed, the notion that Provorov is bringing this acrimony on himself because, as a bigot, he simply couldn't get himself to put on a jersey with a rainbow, seems preposterous. Provorov takes on all risk, with no reward. He will be forever smeared by the closed-minded people who write about him. In today's world, dissenting from the progressive faith takes a lot of spine. Most players — most people — would rather not risk being denigrated and bullied by the mob. Who can blame them?

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Previously:
• 01/13/23: On Classified Documents, Joe Biden Is Out of Excuses
• 04/29/22: Biden's Ministry of Truth
• 04/08/22: The Most Radical Abortion Law in the Nation
• 04/01/22: Recuse Yourself, Joe Biden
• 03/25/22: No, School Boards Are Not 'Banning Books'
• 03/11/22: Let Them Drive Teslas
• 01/28/22: It's Not Government's Job to 'Root Out' Misinformation
• 01/14/22: Biden's Big Elections Lie
• 01/07/22: Schumer's Ugly 'Voting Rights' Gamble
• 12/24/21:AOC's Grasp on American Governance Is a 'Farce'
• 12/17/21: Dems Pivot from Build Back Better to Useless Extremism
• 11/19/21: Reckoning' Over Steele Dossier?
• 10/15/21: The Biden White House Will Pay for Playing Inflation Games
• 09/24/21: The most demonstrable political scandal still ignored
• 09/17/21: Sorry, AOC, The Rich Already Pay Their Fair Share
• 09/02/21: Why Isn't Biden to Blame for COVID-19 Deaths?
• 08/06/21: Biden's Unprecedented Attack on the Constitution
• 07/30/21: Jan. 6 Was Deplorable. It Was NOT a Coup
• 06/21/21: The Myth of Republican Obstructionism
• 05/21/21: What Does Putin Have on Biden?
• 04/16/21: Kristen Clarke Is Unfit to Be in Government
• 03/26/21: No to DC Statehood is far from GOP being reflexive
• 03/22/21: Biden Prepares to Strip College Students of Due Process Rights The Hypocrisy of the Filibuster Busters
• 03/12/21: Biden Prepares to Strip College Students of Due Process Rights
• 03/05/21: AOC's Terrible Minimum Wage Argument
• 02/12/21: The Dem Party Is Radicalizing against the Constitution
• 02/05/21: What NOT to Do with Marjorie Taylor Greene
• 01/15/21: Free Speech Is a Value Not Just a Right
• 12/31/20: It Can't Get Any Worse Than 2020. Here's a 2021 Political Wish List
• 10/26/20: Wanted: An Honest Debate about the Death Penalty
• 10/26/20: These are the questions 'Big Guy' Biden must be forced to answer about Hunter's emails
• 09/11/20: The Dems' Dangerous Delegitimization of the Election
• 08/28/20: Biden Is Underperforming Hillary in Battleground States
• 08/14/20: Kamala Harris, Imaginary Centrist
• 07/24/20: Who you calling a fascist?
• 07/17/20: Speech Police have finally gone too far
• 07/03/20: 'But Gorsuch' Is Still Trump's Best Argument
• 06/22/20: Welcome to America's Cultural Revolution
• 06/12/20: The color of my skin is not an indictment of my morality, nor does it strip me of my agency
• 06/05/20: What this son of immigrants knows about bulding bussinesses --- and the dismay of destruction
• 05/28/20: The Folly of Twitter's Fact-Check
• 05/22/20: Dems Warning Trump Will Reject Election Results Should Look in the Mirror
• 05/15/20: Obamagate Is NOT a Conspiracy Theory
• 05/08/20: Really, Joe --- due process is the opposite of justice?