NBA's first openly gay player on NHL Pride Night controversy: 'Religion should not be a cause for division'

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Former NBA player Jason Collins, who became the first openly gay athlete to play in one of the four major North American sports leagues, spoke out this week about the recent wave of NHL players and teams opting out of Pride Night, saying that "religion should not be a cause for division."

In an interview with The Athletic published Monday, Collins discusses a variety of topics, including the recent controversy surrounding the National Hockey League, where several teams and individual players have opted out of celebrating their respective Pride Night festivities this season. 

Jason Collins and Alan Anderson of the Brooklyn Nets celebrate after making a basket against the Nuggets at Pepsi Center on Feb. 27, 2014, in Denver. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

"I have seen from afar some of the stories that have come out," Collins said when asked his thoughts on this issue.  

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"I’ll say this: My grandmother was the most religious person that I’ve ever known. She’s a Black, Southern, upstate Louisiana woman… picture an old, Black woman with a Bible in one hand, three belts in the other. (Laughs) As religious as she was, it was always about love. As a disciplinarian, it was always about love."

Earlier this year, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, who is Russian Orthodox, said he elected not to participate in pregame warmups during the team’s January Pride Night in order to "stay true" to himself and his religion. 

Ivan Provorov of the Flyers during the Anaheim Ducks game at Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 17, 2023, in