[ComixZone]

The way that online media reacted to Player A choosing not to wear the jersey screams "COMPLY OR DIE" when it comes to a certain structure of beliefs/ideologies - and these sort of things are loaded with ideological undertones at this point in our societies. Compliance through flogging is not how ideas progress.

Consider Player A, perhaps he does an obscene amount of charitable work but keeps it quiet because he's a private individual, but that Player A chooses not to comply to a practice jersey mandate for any number of personal reasons. Is Player A a terrible person? Because the online communities are treating Player A as a terrible person. The backlash is/was intense. Even if it's not an obscene amount of charitable work, we know of plenty of examples of quiet NHL players who go about their business doing significantly more charitable work than the average person - so turning on and flogging that person over one choice does a disservice to the rest of that person.

The NHL (and likely the NHLPA) both see this. The way it should be is that the organizations stand up for these causes, because that's what is financially important to them right - but they shouldn't enforce that on their contractors any more than any of our employers/contracting companies should be able to force us to wear uniforms that align with the same ideology as the corporation. That's not freedom of speech, that's comply or be tarred and feathered.

The main point of my post is the bolded part.