Players are hired to play, not be activists, and forget about respectful disagreement

From the Life Imitates Art file, Ivan Provorov and Cosmo Kramer once had nothing in common. Now the hockey player knows what it’s like to be a “Seinfeld” character.

The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman didn’t want to wear a LBGTQ-themed jersey during warmup last week. Sort of like when Kramer signed up for an AIDS charity walk, only he didn’t want to wear an AIDS ribbon.

Fellow walkers cornered him in an alley and beat him up.

“This is America!” Kramer yelled. “I don’t have to wear anything I don’t want to wear.”

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Oh yes you do.

Provorov was under the silly impression he was hired to play hockey, not promote social causes. Then the Flyers put him in a no-win position.

He could endorse a position that violates his Russian Orthodox beliefs. Or he could become a pariah to millions of people.

Five members of the Tampa Rays can relate. They opted not to wear LBGTQ patches during the team’s Pride Night celebration last season. As with most of these cases, they cited religious reasons.

I don’t agree with that religious view, but so what? People have the right to believe and worship as they see fit. If memory serves me right, that freedom is what America was founded on.

“I respect everybody, I respect everybody’s choices,” said Provorov, who was born in Russia but moved to the U.S. when he was 13. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say.”

And that should have been that. But not these days.

'Shameful human being'

Respectful disagreement is no longer an option. And heaven help anyone who respectfully disagrees with certain causes.

“He’s a shameful human being whose homophobia is only going to get more shameful over the years,” a Toronto Star columnist wrote of Provorov.

One national broadcaster in Canada decreed the Flyers should be fined $1 million. An NHL Network reporter said Provorov should go back to Russia and fight in the Ukraine war.

Provorov’s girlfriend has a feel-good Instagram page with 138,000 followers for his dog, Drake. She shut it down after a barrage of hateful messages.

I don’t think any of the Rays had to cancel their dog’s Instagram accounts last summer, but they were called bigots, homophobes, religious kooks, yada, yada, yada.

These episodes are worldwide. Seven members of an Australian National Rugby League team refused to wear Pride jerseys last year. The backlash was such, they couldn’t attend the game due to security concerns.

LGBTQ isn’t the only hot button. Virginia Tech paid $100,000 to a female soccer player to settle a lawsuit last month. She claimed the coach ostracized her after she refused to kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sports have been a catalyst for social change but ...

History shows that sports can be a catalyst for social change, but it feels as if it’s becoming one endless AIDS walk. Teams and leagues take stands on items like voting rights, immigration and transgender bathrooms.

These issues are complicated and contentious, sure to spark emotional reactions. That explains why Provorov’s jersey sold out online last week.

A lot of those people were asking why teams never have Christian Pride Nights or promote similar functions. The end result was deeper polarization, and more fans wondering why they can no longer turn to sports as a refuge from such aggravations.

At least they can just turn off their TVs. For players, there’s no easy escape when the company makes you an involuntary activist.

They go along, or self-styled champions of tolerance tell them to go dodge bullets in the Donbas. And take their homophobic dogs with them.

Please note, Provorov didn’t pick this fight. His stance has been called a “protest” and a “boycott,” and his most passionate defenders probably like the tone of those words.

But Provorov wasn’t defiant. He just stayed in the locker room during the pre-game skate.

When descended upon after the game, he didn’t question Pride Night or denounce homosexuality or quote scripture.

He just wanted to talk hockey. You know, the game Philadelphia hired him to play.

But life does indeed imitate art sometimes.

It was amusing watching this kind of drama play out on “Seinfeld.” It’s not funny when your employer turns you into Kramer in real life.

David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Ivan Provorov catching bullets for NHL's and Flyers' LGBTQ misfire