More like the NHL tried to do an inclusive event, but 2 or 3 players were able to spit on the whole thing, and the NHL allowed them to very visibly undermine it, justifiably calling the whole thing into question. If the NHL allows that, then I’m sure they aren’t as progressive as they’d like to appear.
If it was truly only 2 or 3 players, I doubt there’d be much pushback from the union for taking action after making them all look bad. This kind of thing only works if literally everyone participates. If those players refused, they shouldn’t have been let on the ice at the very least. Being willing to do that would say way more for the NHL’s support for the LGBT community than wearing rainbow jerseys.
The NHL has shown this was just a PR stunt and doesn’t actually have the backs of its fans. Now, those 2-3 players have somehow forced a multi-billion dollar corporation to completely roll over and drop any pretense of support for the LGBT community in its entirety. I’m surprised they didn’t just fire them for causing such a headache and to help save face.