It’s never easy to stand against the tide, but in the United States of America, standing against the tide is built into our nation’s DNA. And protection of this individualism is codified in our Constitution. It’s why the current woke cancel culture moment we are living through should be rightly derided as anti-American.

An example of standing against the tide and standing in solidarity with our nation’s core First Amendment principles comes courtesy of a Russian national. National Hockey League player Ivan Provorov, who plays for the Philadelphia Flyers, recently decided to boycott his team’s “Pride Night” event.

During pregame warmups, Flyers players donned Pride Night jerseys and used sticks wrapped in rainbow-colored tape to celebrate the “LGBTQ+ community.” Provorov refused to join in the display and did not participate in the warmups. He did, however, play in the game against the Anaheim Ducks, for which the team donned its usual home jerseys.

After the game, Provorov, who is in his seventh season in the league and all of them with the Flyers, was asked about his pregame absence. Provorov answered: “I respect everybody. I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.”

Flyers head coach John Tortorella was also asked about Provorov’s pregame boycott, and he replied: “With Provy, he’s being true to himself and his religion. This has to do with his belief and his religion. It’s one thing I respect about Provy is he is always true to himself.”

Provorov happens to be Russian Orthodox, a division of Christianity that, based upon biblical teachings, views the practice of homosexuality as sinful. Indeed, it remains the case that across the globe the vast majority of Christians believe homosexual acts to be a form of deviant sexual sin, as Scripture teaches. That Provorov, seeking to remain faithful to his religious beliefs, would refuse to celebrate homosexuality should come as a surprise to no one.

However, due to the inherent intolerance of the woke Left, it also has come as no surprise that Provorov received a cascade of hate over social media. Of course, social media more often than not brings out the worst in people, but all too often businesses, including professional sports, capitulate to the anti-freedom demands of these wokescolds.

The NHL released a statement that surprisingly takes a stand on the side of freedom and against coercion. “Hockey is for Everyone is the umbrella initiative under which the League encourages Clubs to celebrate the diversity that exists in their respective markets, and to work to achieve more welcoming and inclusive environments for all fans,” the league states. “Clubs decide whom to celebrate, when and how — with League counsel and support. Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues.”

The reason we have dubbed LGBT activists the Rainbow Mafia is because they don’t merely advocate for tolerance of their sexual choices; no, they demand that all Americans (and Russians for that matter) embrace and offer full-throated celebration of their deviancy. They don’t believe in that liberal ideal of live and let live.

The only solution is for more principled Americans to stand against the tide and stand up for what they believe in irrespective of today’s woke bullies. Individual freedom is not found in agreeing with the mob but in refusing to capitulate and be ruled by the mob. Provorov, in his own quiet way, has served to remind Americans how this is done.