Philadelphia coach defends Provorov's Pride boycott
Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella defended Russian defenseman Ivan Provorov's decision to cite religious beliefs as his reason to boycott the team's pregame Pride celebration.
“Provy did nothing wrong,” Tortorella said Thursday. “Just because you don't agree with his de- cision doesn't mean he did anything wrong.”
Before Tuesday's game against the Anaheim Ducks, the 26-year-old Provorov sat out warmups, during which the Flyers wore Pride-themed jerseys and used sticks wrapped in rainbow tape.
Provorov is Russian Orthodox, and said after the game that he respected “everybody's choices.”
“My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That's all I'm going to say,” he said, declining to answer follow-up questions.
Tortorella said he had “very healthy” conversations with Provorov, general manager Chuck Fletcher and select players days ahead of the game. Provorov's decision was not a surprise to the organization.
The first-year Flyers coach also said he never considered benching Provorov.
“Why would I bench him? Because of a decision he's making on his beliefs and his religion?” Tortorella said. “It turned out to be a great night for Pride night.”
The Flyers, led by players James van Riemsdyk and Scott Laughton, have been staunch supporters of the LGBTQ community and launched a program in support of LGBTQ youth in the greater Philadelphia area. The Flyers also hosted a pregame skate for local LGBTQ youth, and Laughton and van Riemsdyk met after the game with about 50 people from the community.
“I think ultimately I'd like to look at the positives from the night,” van Riemsdyk said Thursday. “We were able to host a few different groups and meet with them after the game. I think that's where I'd like to keep the focus on, about the good things that happened. Ultimately, when you play a team sport, and there's lots of different people from different backgrounds, there's different causes that people support.”
Tortorella dismissed criticisms that Provorov's actions “embarrassed the organization,” saying, “I don't look it at like that all.”
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