Journalists and transgender activists (but I repeat myself) overplayed their hands when they tried to shame NHL players into wearing Pride jerseys. Now, no one in the league will be wearing them anymore.

The NHL announced that teams will not wear special warmup jerseys for themed nights. That includes themed nights such as “Military” and “Heritage,” but it is clear that the impetus for this change comes from team Pride nights. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that “it would be appropriate for clubs not to change their jerseys in warmups because it’s become a distraction.”

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Bettman is exactly right, and transgender activists have no one to blame but themselves. When Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov (now on the Columbus Blue Jackets) declined to wear a Pride-themed warmup jersey before a game, he was attacked relentlessly by sports media figures. Sports “journalists” demanded that he be benched or suspended, called him a homophobe for staying true to his religion, implied that he wasn’t devout in his religion, and even called for him to be fired.

But Provorov wasn’t the only player who decided to opt out of Pride jerseys. Other hockey players followed, citing their religious beliefs. Then, entire teams began opting out of the jerseys, likely an effort by teammates, coaches, or both to protect those players from the hate-filled rants that journalists and activists (again, I repeat myself) hurled at Provorov.

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Now, like the bad child acting up in class, those journalists and activists ruined the celebrations for everyone. Bettman said that themed nights themselves will continue, but the themed warmups will not, all because activists couldn’t stop frothing at the mouth over a few players not wanting to conform to their political ideology. Their pathetic tantrums did nothing but force the entire league to jettison Pride jerseys, as well as display the hate and intolerance that is at the core of transgender activism.

It is a shame that the NHL was too cowardly to stand for its players and instead forced other themed warmups to be retired as well, but at the end of the day, this is a net positive. Politics do not belong in sports, and “Pride” is a political celebration and nothing more. Sports fans should be able to enjoy games, and players should be able to play games, without journalists and activists ranting to them about how “inclusion” means excluding and shaming anyone who doesn’t go along with their activist demands.