NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday that teams will no longer wear specialty sweaters during warmups because "it's become a distraction."

The decision to move away from specialty warmup sweaters for events such as Pride Night is the latest development in an ongoing story after a handful of players refused to wear Pride jerseys this past season.

"I've suggested that it would be appropriate for clubs not to change their jerseys in warmups because it's become a distraction and taking away from the fact that all of our clubs in some form or another host nights in honor of various groups or causes," Bettman said in an interview with Sportsnet following a Board of Governors meeting in New York. "And we rather them continue to get the appropriate attention that they deserve and not be a distraction."

The Board of Governors agreed with Bettman's view.

Bettman said teams still can have specialty nights such as Pride Night, Black History Night, Military Appreciation Night and Hockey Fights Cancer. He also said teams still can create and sell specialty sweaters for various charities.

"Players who choose to model them can do that," Bettman said. "It's really just the question of what's on the ice."

You Can Play, which has worked with sports and leagues -- including the NHL -- to help them become more inclusive for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, said it was "concerned and disappointed" by the decision.

"Today's decision means that the over 95% of players who chose to wear a Pride jersey to support the community will now not get an opportunity to do so," the organization said in a statement. "The work to make locker rooms, board rooms and arenas safer, more diverse, and more inclusive needs to be ongoing and purposeful, and we will continue to work with our partners at the NHL, including individual teams, players, agents and the NHLPA to ensure this critical work continues."

The league-wide conversation around specialty sweaters -- namely Pride Night sweaters -- picked up in January when then-Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov opted not to wear a Pride Night-themed warmup sweater. Provorov, who was recently traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, cited his religious beliefs, saying he wanted "to stay true to myself and my religion."

The Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers were among the teams that said they would wear special sweaters for their respective Pride Nights only to reverse course. The Wild announced their sweaters would be sold at a charity auction.

In March, the Chicago Blackhawks reportedly did not wear their Pride-themed warmup sweaters because of security concerns over a Russian law that expanded restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQIA+ rights.

March also saw San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer sit out of warmups when the team held its Pride Night, also citing his religious beliefs. He said at the time, "I strongly believe that every person has value and worth and the LGBTQIA+ community, like all others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey."

Days later, brothers Eric and Marc Staal, who both play for the Florida Panthers, also sat out of warmups when the team held its Pride Night. The Staal brothers issued a statement that said they carry "no judgement on how people choose to live their lives" while adding that wearing a Pride sweater "goes against our Christian beliefs."

"In the final analysis, all of the efforts and emphasis on the importance of these various causes have been undermined by the distraction in terms of which teams, which players," Bettman said. "This way, we're keeping the focus on the game, and on these specialty nights, we're going to be focused on the cause."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.