Backlash grows over Nashville Predators’ Pride Night event

The National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators lost their Pride Night game 4-2 to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, but the team is taking more heat online for hosting the event in the first place.

The team invited a Jesus-mocking group called the Cowgays to sing the national anthem, as well as queer country artist Medium Build and cross-dressing singer Brady Riley to perform.

The team also redesigned its logo and jerseys for the game, adding a rainbow to Gnash, the saber-toothed tiger that represents the team. Players’ sticks were wrapped in rainbow-colored tape, which the team featured in its social media posts.

Critics panned the celebration, which was held months before June, when many cities celebrate Pride Month. Some noted the potential confusion of connecting the word “gay” with “Predators,” leading to comments about “gay predators.”

“A team called the Predators with a fan base nicknamed ‘Smashville’ is having a Pride Night during a game with the Devils, and a band called the ‘Cowgays’ is singing the national anthem,” posted Matt Rinaldi, a former Texas GOP chairman, on X. “There is so much material here and none of it makes you look good.”

Others noted that NHL fans, second only to Major League Baseball fans, lean Republican, meaning they are less likely to support the “in-your-face” gay agenda.

The event also came one day before the three-year anniversary of Audrey Hale killing six people during a shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville.

Hale, a former student, despised her gender and wrote of wanting to be a boy. She also disparaged Christians, questioning God and calling Jesus “a faggot” in her journal.

One X user called Hale “an LGBT terrorist” and posted that “someone at the Predators needs to be arrested for dancing on the graves of children.”

“This isn’t a family-friendly environment,” wrote another user, Outkick’s Jon Root. “NHL has to stop pushing this radical LGBTQ agenda.”

Photo credit: Screenshot (YouTube)