During his time with the Detroit Red Wings, forward David Booth was very open about his deeply held religious faith. Now playing hockey in the UK for the EIHL’s Fife Flyers, Booth’s Christian beliefs were at odds with the team’s plans for a Pride Night celebration.

For many years now, the Flyers have donned specially-designed Pride Night jerseys for a game to honor the area’s LGBTQ+ community. However, in his first season with the team, Booth declined to participate, refusing to wear the special jersey.

In turn, the team reneged on its plan to wear the jerseys during Saturday’s game against the Guildford Flames. Instead, they indicated that they would wear the Pride Night jerseys during the pre-game warm-up. They would suit up in their regular jerseys for the game.

Booth declined to take part in the warm-up and wear his jersey. His special jersey was also removed from the traditional post-game auctioning of the jerseys that annually raises funds for the area’s LGBTQ+-related charitable causes.

In a release, the team indicated that this decision was made to “respect the diversity of personal beliefs” among the players.

We want to acknowledge the hurt and disappointment many in our community felt due to our decisions on Pride Night.

We are truly sorry for the impact this had and understand why it has caused upset amongst the community.

The Fife Flyers are committed to inclusion and aim to be a… pic.twitter.com/ufya9imYzt

— Fife Flyers 🏒🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@FifeFlyers) February 1, 2026

When representatives of The Hive – this year’s designated charity – showed up at the game, they were informed that the jerseys would not be worn because of an internal team issue. They left the rink immediately, refusing to accept any donation from the team.

The Flyers were harshly criticized within the UK hockey and LGBTQ+ communities. Independently, people donated thousands of dollars in support of The Hive.

Former Red Wings Player Injured During Game

Booth’s decision not to participate in the warm-up came back to haunt him. Five minutes into the game, a leg injury would force Booth out of action.

David Booth injured, carried off ice by teammates and staff
byu/Training_Purchase318 inEIHLHockey

Booth, 41, was an NHLer for 530 games. That includes 28 games for the Red Wings in 2017-18. That season, he was accounting for four goals and one assist.