The National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars will not host a Pride Night for the 2026-2027 season, the first time in at least five years.

The team did not provide a specific reason for dropping Pride Night from its schedule, which typically occurs in February or March.

Instead, reports indicate the Stars will host a game called “Hockey Unites Us: Women in Sports Night” on March 23 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“The new Hockey Unites Night allows our organization to use our platform to celebrate and support a different underrepresented community each season,” Stars spokesperson Joe Calvillo said in a statement, according to The Dallas Morning News.

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The NHL leaves the decision up to the teams for which theme nights to host. The Stars will have events in honor of Black history, Hockey Fights Cancer, Noche Mexicana, the military, first responders and teachers but are set to be one of the only NHL teams to not host a Pride Night this season.

Last season, the Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings and Utah Mammoth were the only three NHL teams to not host a night to celebrate LGBTQ+ inclusion. The Boston Bruins have never hosted a dedicated Pride Night but include the LGBTQ+ community in their broader Hockey Is For Everyone celebration held annually since 2017-18, according to reporting by The Athletic.

The Kings, however, are bringing back Pride Night next season, and the Hurricanes have a Hockey Is For Everyone Night scheduled for March.

North Texas sports fans are used to seeing their teams forego Pride Nights.

The Texas Rangers are the only MLB team to not host a Pride Night.

“The Texas Rangers are the only team in Major League Baseball that doesn’t host a Pride Night. This week, they’re hosting Faith and Family Night instead. Meanwhile, MLB just warned Giants pitchers for writing Bible verses on their own caps. In Texas, we don’t punish people for living out their faith. We protect that right,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in June.

Breitbart noted:

The team’s decision to drop Pride Night for the upcoming season drew some online backlash.

“It is truly a shame that in an era where bigotry is being normalized, the [Stars] have decided that they want to treat celebration nights as if they’re pie instead of welcoming everyone in,” said one user. “One of the biggest signs of increasing societally approved bigotry is when minority groups are no longer seen by businesses as profitable. this isn’t just a Dallas Stars issue, or an NHL/hockey issue, and it’s not even just a queer issue. It’s everywhere.”

 

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