Key Highlights
- | Photo by Katherine Dailey/Michigan Advance. The Detroit Red Wings are officially hosting a Pride Night game in the 2025-26 season, adding that specific tag to the team’s game against the New Jersey Devils on April 11. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe team made the change after criticism emerged online as to why the Red Wings were one of only three teams — alongside the Los Angeles Kings and the Utah Mammoth, the latter of which do not appear to have any themed games — to not schedule a Pride-related game during the season. Pride Night will be held alongside the team’s “People of Hockeytown” night, to highlight the “diverse range of fans, cultures, and communities that make Hockeytown one of the NHL’s most passionate fan bases,” along with “Fan Appreciation Night,” as the game will be the team’s last regular season home game. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOXThe NHL’s official promotional schedule for the team now lists “PRIDE Night” as a part of the April 11 game, but that is a recent change — archived versions of the website show that as of at least late December, that wording was not present on the page. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We have always planned to celebrate Pride within our People of Hockeytown Night on April 11.
- To clarify this, we’ve added the title of Pride Night, during which we will continue our longstanding support of team partners and fans within the LGBTQ+ community,” Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, which serves as the combined business operations of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers, wrote in a statement to the Michigan Advance. In past years, the Red Wings have hosted specific Pride Night events, and the MLB’s Detroit Tigers, who have the same main ownership as the Red Wings, hosted their own Pride game in June. A spokesperson for Ilitch Sports + Entertainment spotlighted those events, as well as the participation of the teams in the annual Motor City Pride Parade.
- The teams also participate in the Pride Month “Game Changers” Recognition Program with Comerica Bank, which gives awards to LGBTQ+ leaders around the state from groups like Equality Michigan and Stonewall Sports Detroit, as well as partnerships with local LGBTQ+ organizations like the Ruth Ellis Center and the You Can Play Project.
- X post for the Detroit Red Wings Pride Night in 2024.
- | ScreenshotPride events in the NHL have been a source of controversy for seasons, and in 2023, the league banned teams from wearing themed warmup jerseys, including Pride jerseys, after a number of players publicly refused to wear them.
