Jimmy Failla rips NHL over Provorov controversy: 'Nobody asked for this'
'Fox Across America' host Jimmy Failla weighs in after NHL player Ivan Provorov took backlash for skipping the team's pride night.
Philadelphia Flyers player Ivan Provorov has faced harsh backlash this week for his decision to not participate in his NHL team’s Pride night.
The controversy only grew as more people began speaking out against the left’s influence on sports, which Jimmy Failla argued nobody wants.
Failla, host of "Fox Across America," clarified that his issue is with the National Hockey League for hosting what he called a shallow corporate gesture.
"Nobody asked for this," Failla said Thursday on "America’s Newsroom."
Provorov told members of the press that he respects everyone’s choices, and his choice was to stay true to his Russian Orthodox beliefs.
The slogan for the event was "Hockey is for Everyone," which Failla noted is not true.
"They're now telling you it's not for everyone because you've got a guy who doesn't necessarily side with the agenda," he said
A side-by-side shot of Philadelphia Flyers player Ivan Provorov and the Pride Night jumbotron. (Getty Images)
Jason Whitlock, host of "Fearless," instead took issue with the left for continually pushing its agenda onto the sports world.
"It's hard to blame the NHL. This is all of corporate America imposing its will on sports leagues," Whitlock said Wednesday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
"It's not just the National Hockey League. It's the NFL, it’s Major League Baseball, it’s the NBA," he said. "They're all slaves to corporate America."
He explained that the sports industry was the one remaining stronghold within popular culture that held conservative values but is now being targeted by the left.
Whitlock said it’s embarrassing that Provorov, a Russian athlete, held his religious convictions while American athletes have folded.
"We've had athletes in football, basketball, baseball, everywhere: They're all disavowing their religious convictions and taking on the convictions of corporate America and global corporations," he said. "They worship the dollar."
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Failla, however, criticized the NHL for turning political, arguing that fans of the sport didn’t ask for the league to take a stance.
"These people that go to hockey, that go to sports in any capacity, go to get away from all the politics and the infighting," he said. "They're willing to pay $22 a beer to escape politics, okay? Give them a break."
Provorov's stance drew harsh condemnation from sports pundits, with one saying he should go back to Russia and fight in Ukraine and many others calling him homophobic.
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