Pride Night is scheduled for Sunday at the United Center, where the Blackhawks will skate against the Canucks. Notably, though, the Hawks have opted against wearing the customary Pride-themed warmup jerseys as part of the festivities due to safety concerns for players with families in Russia, where an anti-gay law signed by Vladimir Putin in December expanded restrictions on supporting LGBTQ rights.
The decision reportedly came from the front office, not the players, among whom are three with Russian heritage.
In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter, we wanted to know how you felt about this decision.
“I’m disappointed but understand the issue is complicated,” @SkywayWilly commented.
“The Chicago Blackhawks? More like the Chicago Cowards,” @RevDJEsq wrote.
We also asked for an update on your NCAA Tournament brackets. Just how messy are they by this point?
And we asked about the World Baseball Classic: Did you watch? Did you dig it? Could you believe how exciting that epic final showdown was between Japan’s Shohei Ohtani and Team USA’s Mike Trout?
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Are you disappointed in the Blackhawks’ decision not to wear rainbow-colored Pride warmup jerseys on Sunday’s scheduled Pride night?
It’s time for this week’s “Polling Place.” Let us hear from you! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 23, 2023
Q1: Are you disappointed in the Blackhawks’ decision not to wear rainbow-colored Pride warmup jerseys on Sunday’s scheduled Pride Night?
Upshot: The “yeses” have it, but there’s still a vast gulf between the “inclusion” and “indoctrination” camps. Isn’t it great that we can discuss a matter such as this one — perhaps even disagree — and yet completely maintain respectful, neighborly dispositions in the process? Oh, wait, sorry, that never happens. Sigh.
Poll No. 2: How’s your NCAA Tournament bracket looking?
Q2: How's your NCAA Tournament bracket looking?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 23, 2023
Upshot: Raise your hand if you had Florida Atlantic in the Elite Eight? Hello? Anyone out there? Your old pal here had Houston, UConn, Alabama and Duke in the Final Four, with Houston winning it all, in his bracket that ran in the paper. The truth is, we know what we know — some of us only a little, some of us more than that — but we’re all just guessing at bracket time. That’s why the tournament never disappoints.
Poll No. 3: Did you watch and enjoy the World Baseball Classic?
Q3: Did you watch and enjoy the World Baseball Classic?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 23, 2023
Upshot: There was a pretty great buzz throughout among those who were paying attention to the WBC. Let’s let @KurtisArndt take it from here: “The Czech Republic had school teachers on its team. The USA had a lineup of stars with $300 million contracts. That’s what makes the WBC so entertaining — any team can win, any team can compete.”
