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Gryffindor Lions Refuse to Take a Step Backwards

Sirius Black, Remus Lupin Gryffindor Lions Captain and Forward TOPLINE Gryffindor Lions refuse to accept NHL's ban on Pride tape for their sticks. Albus Dumbledore, team owner, says he will personally cover any fines the team receives for their violations of uniform rules relating to diversity and equality theme nights. Past and present team members have offered to cover fines for any players on other teams who also visibly show their support on ice. Main Article We, and our whole Lions organization, categorically refuse to comply with the "guidelines" outlined in the NHL's memo sent out to all teams last night dictating what gear and uniforms can be worn on the ice for themed events. We will continue to use Pride tape in regular games and at our Pride Night, as will many of our teammates. We are grateful for the support from Lion's owner Albus Dumbledore, who reached out to Coach Weasley and the rest of the team to tell us that he would personally cover any fines we received for uniform violations relating to diversity and equality events this season. We have established a fund to cover any fines received by players on other teams who also continue to show their support with Pride tape or other uniform "violations". Any players wanting to contribute to the fund can reach out to us or the #Hockey4All foundation.

The NHL is taking a step backwards with their decision to ban visible on-ice support for diversity and equality initiatives. We can't support that. We have been open about our disappointment with the league's announcement last June to ban commemorative jerseys, and strongly condemn this latest attack by the league on the rights of players. We also want to take this opportunity to express our disappointment in the league's reinstatement of Arsenius Malfoy as assistant coach to the Slytherin Snakes. [Editorial note: Mr. Malfoy was proven to be responsible for the pictures which outed Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin in January 2020, and received a $50,000 fine and a one-year suspension from the league.] The outpouring of support we received from players, coaches, and fans following our outing has been greater than we ever imagined. I (Sirius) can't express how much it meant to see fellow players showing their support with Pride tape at the All-Star game the morning after I was outed. (Link to All-Star pre-game warm-up) Up until then, I hadn't realized how much support and acceptance there was among players, and that open, visible on-ice support was a turning point for me. I know it was for others too. The argument put forward by Commissioner Bettman and others that players are encouraged to "express themselves off the ice" is bullshit. Our platform comes from what we do on the ice, and on the ice is where we can best express our support for members of the LGBTQ+ community. The tape we use doesn't affect how we play hockey, but it can mean so much to our fans and younger players questioning whether they have a place in hockey. If the league aims to "keep the focus on the game", why are they choosing to take a stand that they know will be more of a "distraction" than the tape that we and many other players have used without any impact on our performance for the past season and a half?

We understand that not all players support us, and we don't think that any player should be forced to use Pride tape or wear a Pride jersey. That is not what we are arguing for - we are arguing for our right to show our support.

Gryffindor Lions Applaud NHL's Reversal on Tape Ban

Press release from the Gryffindor Lions organisation

The Gryffindor Lions applaud the NHL's decision to rescind the ban on Pride Tape implemented just before the opening of the season. The organisation would also like to note that the ban should never have been put in place to begin with, and strongly urges the Commissioner and Governing Body to partake in the diversity, equality, and social responsibility trainings offered by the league each year. We are disappointed that it took the NHL so long to rescind this farce of a ban.

We are grateful for the support and efforts from players around the league over the past weeks to showcase their disdain for this farce of a ban. The visible, on-ice support from Travis Dermott (Coyotes), Frederick Wentworth (Canadiens), Théo Angévine (Golden Knights), Marc André Fleury (Wild), Ryan FitzWilliam (Senators), and the entire Rangers team, was invaluable and has gone a long way to mitigating the damage done by the NHL Governing Body's thoughtless ban. As the NHL is still deliberating whether it will take disciplinary action over infringements to a now non-existent policy, we take this opportunity to remind the league that Albus Dumbledore and our Gryffindor players' association stand ready to cover all and any fines incurred for violating the tape ban. Should the NHL opt to do what is right, the funds already raised to cover any fines will instead be donated to the #Hockey4All foundation to continue its work in community engagement for the LGBTQ+ community at all levels of sport.

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Notes: Here is the news on the NHL rescinding the ban, one of the articles that actually has information from the one (how is it only one?) player who went against the ban :> https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/nhl-rescinds-ban-on-pride-tape-after-coyotes-travis-dermott-uses-it-vs-ducks-per-reports/

Thanks to @lumosinlove and @amarguerite for the characters...

... and no, neither Fleury, nor the Rangers have taken a stand yet in real life, that is just how it works in the Sweater Weather universe.... (but it is not too late, come on guys, you can do it! Use the tape every day :D) .. also, no team would ever put out a press release that so blatantly disrespects the league. I wanted to make it even harsher, and then call it a draft press release and show Alice's editing notes with the legal team, but I don't know how to do strike-through on Tumblr yet (and drafted this super quickly in the app as soon as my partner had sent me the news).

Sugar Rush - snippet

Rating: General audience. No ships. Juvenile diabetes, bullying, racism, and sexism. Incorrect medical advice. Excessive use of commas and run-on sentences.

General description: Remus helps one of his summer Cubs navigate how to continue in sports after a diagnosis of Type 1A diabetes. Thanks to @lumosinlove for the characters, @noots-fic-fests for the prompts and cards, and @hazelnoot-analyst for their archive work :)

Remus sifted through his inbox, which was usually pretty quiet during the summer months before training camp kicked off. There would, however, sometimes be the odd e-mail from a parent related to the Cubs teams he coached, so he continued to check his Lions' e-mail everyday. Sure enough, today, he had two e-mails, one from the ice manager about when the Cubs were expected to arrive for their special arena tour the coming week. One from - hmmm - one from the administration forwarding an e-mail from Mr. Sanchez, father to one of the more gifted Cubs Remus has coached in the past three seasons. Lucía had joined their program as a seven year old, and now, at nine, was one of the best skaters and players on the ice. She had worked hard to catch up to the kids who had grown up on the ice, learning to skate as soon as they could walk, and she showed an instinctive grasp of hockey tactics and reading plays on the fly. She had missed last week, and he hoped this wasn't bad news. Remus clicked open the e-mail, scanned it quickly, then let out a breath. It wasn't good news, but it certainly wasn't as bad as he feared. Lucía had just been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, and was afraid that she couldn't play hockey anymore. Remus fired out a response, inviting Lucía and her father to a meeting before the next practice. Then, he hit the books. Well, he hit the internet, collecting resources from reliable sites he already knew of and sniffing out some sites with information that might be more accessible to an 8-year old, and some resources in Spanish, just in case. Then he called his buddy Jake, a former NFL tight end Remus had met during his courses at Madison. Jake, a Type 1A diabetic, did a couple of sessions at the university each year for aspiring trainers on how to assist athletes with diabetes, and Remus had stayed in touch. He also fired off an e-mail to Luke Kunin, who had started working with the Madison sports trainers in high school while Remus was finishing up his program, even though Kunin's freshman year was after Remus' graduation. The following Tuesday, Remus felt ready to go. He met Lucía and Mr. Sanchez in the lobby, and ushered them through to his office so they could be assured of privacy. It broke his heart a little to hear Lucía look so defeated when she declared that she couldn't play anymore. Diabetic Mexican girls have no place on the ice, her doctor said. At that, Remus shot a look to Mr. Sanchez, whose jaw had clenched so tight, Remus was afraid he might crack a tooth. "But, you are from Honduras. Lucía, don't believe anything someone says if they can't even get that right once you've told them. Your doctor is very, very, very wrong." "The school says it too, and other players. Only some girls can play hockey, and not brown girls, and not sick brown girls. They say I will get a sugar rush and fall down whenever I skate fast. And they say I will get too fat to skate, only fat Mexicans get diabetes." "I am sorry you had to listen to that. None of what they say is true. I will keep a stronger ear out for that kind of bullying and ask the other coaches to do better too. That kind of attitude does not belong on the ice, in the locker room, or anywhere."

Then, point by point, Remus demolished the false statements, explaining that diabetes is different from a sugar rush, and that with careful management, Lucía can not only play any sport she wants, but excel at it. He shared the tips from Jake and Luke about how to wrap Lucía's new continuous glucose monitor and pump so that they were protected without impeding movement or insulin flow. He talked about nutrition and managing diet in the sense of being aware of how your body was feeling, and learning when and what to eat ahead of expected activities, and how to recognise a low. He shared his stories of working with Kunin, and how the whole World Junior team kept jelly beans in their pockets and on the bench, just in case Kunin needed to quickly raise his blood sugar. He talked about how the discipline and awareness of how her body is feeling that Lucía will develop while managing her diabetes might help her with the work needed to become a professional athlete, if that is a goal she decides to pursue (although nothing can guarantee anyone will make it to a professional, - and doesn't Remus know all about that, he thinks silently to himself - but diabetes certainly shouldn't stop her).

An alarm started to ring from the desk, and noting that it was almost practice time, he gave Lucía a handful of the temporary tattoos Jake had courriered over to him, some a simple blue circle, others the circle with the words Insulin Dependent written underneath. Then he sent Lucía off to change into her gear, but asked Mr. Sanchez to stay behind for a second.

"What your doctor said to Lucía was incredibly inappropriate, damaging, and incorrect. Is there any chance you can switch doctors?"

"I have already started the process to transfer Lucía to a pediatrician who specialises in juvenile diabetes." "Good. If that doesn't work out, please reach out to us here, and we will try to share more resources and make some connections with organisations the Lions work with regularly. Also, if I may be so bold, please report that doctor to the state board and the US Department of Health and Human Services. I have to head to the ice, but, please, don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any other questions or concerns about Lucía playing hockey. I can set up another meeting like this anytime this summer. Lucía is a gifted player and a great leader on the ice, hockey would be worse off without her playing."

Spellbound - snippet

Rating: General Audience Ship: Coops

General description: Remus feels all the feels, very quickly. Or - what Remus is feeling as he is just over there grinning to himself in Chapter 4: September, of Vaincre by @lumosinlove Thanks to @lumosinlove for the characters, @noots-fic-fests for organising, and @hazelnoot-analyst for archiving :)

He sat there spellbound, mesmerised.

It wasn’t the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It didn’t reach out, grab his attention, and never let it go. Nonetheless, he had never felt such a visceral, immediate, connection to an article of clothing before. True, it represented the culmination of all of his hard work, starting way back as a mini mite, up through college, and then all of the rehabilitation and slow, painstaking, mostly lonely, years rebuilding after his injury. However, he had known this moment was coming for months now. He had even seen and approved some of the fan gear being licensed in his name – knowing the back-end of the organisation did have its perks.

He thought he had done a good job preparing himself for this moment, resurrecting all of the rituals that steadied him before a game, his stretches and warm-ups, his cool-downs. He had been fine, a bit keyed-up maybe, each time he had a new first; but he thought he had been handling it well. Yes, he had saved this for last, but he hadn’t really taken his time as he dressed, hadn’t deviated much from the very carefully-timed routine ahead of heading to the ice.

Now, however, his mind was racing, rushing, spinning off in a million different directions before coalescing back into one single, sharp as an ice shard, scintillating thought: Mine. He was in euphoria. Everything felt right, in a way it hadn’t in years, maybe hadn’t ever. He reveled in the rightness of the feeling, of the weight on his shoulders. Of his NHL jersey. OF HIS NHL JERSEY! OF HIS VERY OWN NHL JERSEY!!!

Oh no. He was thinking in bold. He was thinking in caps. There was more than one exclamation mark. He needed to pull himself together. He needed to… think of a quip to put the attention back on Cap.

Moonster Monster - Snippet

Rating: General audience Description: Remus's Lions and university worlds start to bleed into each other with a little prank welcoming him into the league as a player. Thanks to @lumosinlove, @noots-fic-fests, @hazelnoot-analyst for their general awesomeness.

"What the heck?" Remus pulled the hard, thin object out of his suit bag. Flipping it around, he saw the bright primary colours of Dr. Seuss, and the classic Dr. Seuss font. "Give us a read", shouted Nado, seconded quickly by Walker. "Marvin K. Mooney, will you please go now!, by Dr. Seuss", started Remus, before adding, "feeling really welcome right now, guys."

Moody and Arthur walked in, saw the players circled around Remus, and grinned.

Moody barked out, "That was an instruction! All of you, GO NOW. There's a traffic jam en route, and we are already running ten minutes late. Story time can wait until we're on the bus."

Once on the bus, however, Talkie started pulling books out of his bag and stacking them on the seat next to Remus.

"It appears you've been holding out on us a lot more than we knew, Loops. Or should I say, Moony? Quite a few former Badgers have started sending me these - he plonks down a pile of books and starts reading off titles - Goodnight Moon, Moony Luna, The Magical Drawings of Moony B. Finch, more than 10 different books titled Moon Monster, and, AND you haven't even noticed that I've been scattering them around the rink for the two weeks!" "Geez! That was what was going on? I thought we were having another book drive!"

"And the donation bin is your stall? So. Are you Moony, or are you Loops?"

"Loops." "Yeah?" "Yeah. Moony doesn't fit me anymore. I like Loops, it feels good."

"K, Loops." Kasey pipes in from the seat behind, "Kay Loops. We still want story time though." Remus sighs, and grabs the first book off the pile. "Goodnight Moon, written by Margaret Wise Brown, and illustrated by Clement Hurd." "In the great green room, there was..."