The famous evangelist Franklin Graham, son of the even more famous evangelist Billy Graham, spoke out about the hockey player who refused to wear a pride jersey for warmups because of his faith.
That player is Ivan Provorov and he said, regarding his refusal to wear the jersey “Everybody, I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m gonna say. Any type of time I’m going to comment on that. If you have any hockey questions, I would I would answer those…”
Well, Franklin Graham stood up for Povrov on Facebook, saying:
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov is being accused of being homophobic and hateful—because he chose not to participate in a “Pride night” warmup that would have forced him to wear a Pride-themed jersey and use a Pride-themed hockey stick that went against his Christian beliefs. Ivan told reporters, “I respect everybody and I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.” I commend coach John Tortorella who stood by Ivan. Share a word of encouragement for Ivan in the comments below and let him know you support him.
Graham’s comments came as the woke media went absolutely berserk attacking Povrov for standing up for his faith.
“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,” said Canadian sports commentator Pierre LeBrun.
Joining his fellow Canadian was another sportscaster Gord Miller, who said that the Flyers should have benched Provorov for refusing to wear the jersey, saying that “freedom of expression doesn’t give you freedom from the consequences of your words or actions.”
BetMGM hockey writer Rachel Millanta, commenting on Povrov’s refusal, said “Being LGBT+ is not a ‘choice.’ Being ignorant, obnoxious, and homophobic is a choice. Ivan Provorov wasn’t wearing uniform tonight and the @NHLFlyers should not have let him play. Stop letting bigots hide behind their cherry-picked religion. Do better.”
Also joining in was SB Nation hockey editor Steph Driver, who said “Ivan Provorov was allowed to play in a game for the Philadelphia Flyers – the organization that was the first to say that you will be removed from the arena if you utter a homophobic slur – after refusing to wear a Pride logo for warm ups. What an absolute disgrace.”
Perhaps the most unhinged response came from NHL Network reporter E.J. Hradek. Hradek said that Povrov should be deported to Russia for his views, saying “If this is that much of a problem for him to maybe assimilate into his group of teammates and in the community and here in this country; that’s okay. Listen you can feel any way you want, but the beauty is, if it bothers you that much, there’s always a chance to leave.”
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