Sports star has jaw-dropping response as league requires woke LGBT jersey

March 19, 2023
by
World Net Daily

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

As professional sports leagues continue to shove their woke LGBT agenda on their own players and fans, one brave athlete is pushing back in a brilliant way.

James Reimer, a goaltender for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL, not only sat out the team's warmup skate against the New York Islanders on Saturday because his teammates wore jerseys for Pride Night supporting the LGBT community, he issued a statement standing up for his Christian beliefs.

"For all 13 years of my NHL career, I have been a Christian -- not just in title but in how I choose to live my life daily," he said.

"I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and to follow Him. I have no hate in my heart for anyone and I have always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect and kindness.

"In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life.

"I strongly believe that every person has value and worth and the LGBTQIA+ community, like all others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey."

It was a year ago that Reimer started discussions with his team regarding Pride Night, and the Sharks have publicly supported his choice not to participate in warmups. He did not play at all in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Islanders.

"Continuing a long-standing commitment of allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community, Sharks Sports & Entertainment is extremely proud to host our 2023 Sharks Pride Night. This week's events, culminating with tonight's game against the New York Islanders, reinforce our organization's values and dedication to an inclusive, welcoming, and safe environment for all guests in each of our venues," the team said.

"We acknowledge and accept the rights of individuals to express themselves, including how or whether they choose to express their beliefs, regardless of the cause or topic," the team said.

"As we promote these standards, we also acknowledge and accept the rights of individuals to express themselves, including how or whether they choose to express their beliefs, regardless of the cause or topic.

"As an organization, we will not waver in our support of the LGBTQIA+ community and continue to encourage others to engage in active allyship."

Sports journalist Michael LoRé snapped a screenshot of Wikipedia's entry for Reimer, displaying in its very first sentence that Reimer is "a publicly known homophobe."

"Wikipedia never disappoints," he quipped.

As of Sunday afternoon, the mention of "homophobe" is no longer displaying on Reimer's Wikipedia page.

Reimer is certainly not the first NHL star to challenge Pride Night.

In January, defenseman Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers, a Russian Orthodox Christian, sat out the pregame skate because he would not wear the team's LGBT Pride Night warmup jersey "to stay true to me and my religion."

Both the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild initially said they would wear special jerseys on their Pride Nights, but opted out of sporting them before their games.

Some teams in the NHL wear jerseys celebrating Pride Night, while others feature rainbow-colored Pride tape on sticks instead.

Reimer indicated there's a difference between using rainbow stick tape and wearing a jersey.

"Some guys don't do the tape and some guys do. (The tape) is not as mandatory or in your face. So when it comes to jerseys, then it's definitely more of a decision and it kind of amounts to something like this if you choose not to wear the jersey," Reimer said.

"When I saw other teams starting to wear jerseys, I knew that would intersect with my Christian faith."

Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeKovacsNews

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