Gay hockey players are changg the sport’s atavistic culture - Outsports

Contents:

• GAY HOCKEY PLAYER: NHL HYPOCRIL TO NMN BRENDAN LEIPSIC WHOUT CHANGG CULTURE
• GAY MALE HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE G OUT DROV, AND CHANGG THE SPORT’S CULTURE
• BRENDAN GAY

GAY HOCKEY PLAYER: NHL HYPOCRIL TO NMN BRENDAN LEIPSIC WHOUT CHANGG CULTURE

But to Brock McGillis, the first openly gay male profsnal hockey player North Ameri, merely ncelg Leipsic is futile. “Every player I’ve been around has ed this type of language: racist, sexist or homophobic language, ” McGillis told Outsports. Last month, McGillis spoke wh Outsports about the importance of llg out hate-speech hockey, explag why he chose to highlight two-time Stanley Cup champn Dt Penner’s vile nspiracy-filled homophobic Twter timele.

As the first openly gay pro hockey player, McGillis has plenty of first-hand experienc wh the evils of bigotry. Former NHL biser Brandon Pst recently went on a Twter tira about “reverse racism” and star Bs forward David Pastrnak was ught g “you’re gay” as an sult on his Twch stream, though he did tch himself and apologize.

When I go speak, I humanize beg a gay man and playg hockey at high levels. Soccer midfielr Robbie Rogers g out as homosexual, reports revealed Friday that the Natnal Hockey League has fact had hundreds of openly gay athlet throughout s history.Holot Deniers Expla Why They Deny The HolotOffEnglishSourc nfirmed that gay players have actually been credibly mon the NHL for s, and the league is only now beg creded wh layg the groundwork for the growg acceptance of homosexualy profsnal sports.“It’s obvly a watershed moment when a player om the NBA announc he’s gay, but most people fet about Montreal Canadiens wger Steve Shutt, who me out back 1972,” said hockey historian Hank Crerand, notg that Shutt was the first of many gay NHL players to reveal their homosexualy.

GAY MALE HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE G OUT DROV, AND CHANGG THE SPORT’S CULTURE

“Even though gay athlet still rry a stigma today, ’s nothg pared to the ’70s. The lik of Shutt and Gordie Howe faced not only vrl and discrimatn om fans and the media, but also their own teammat and ach.”“The issue of gay athlet has now reached a major turng pot, and ’s only a matter of time before someone the NFL or MLB out,” Crerand ntued. “But the ia that a player would not need to hi his sexual orientatn om the public—and ed be proud of —was very much pneered by the NHL.”Sce s origal ceptn 1917 through to the “Origal 6” era of the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, the NHL has reportedly had a long history of gay players and was far ahead of s time batg prejudice and tolerance toward homosexualy wh locker rooms and stadiums.“Thgs really started to take a turn for the better when Mike Ezne beme the first openly gay pta of an Olympic hockey team to w a gold medal, leadg the U.S.

BRENDAN GAY

“I still remember everyone’s total shock durg Ezne’s emotnal embrace wh his boyiend Ken [Morrow] on the ice after the game.”“That kiss really changed a lot of attus wh the hockey muny,” Crerand add.Bob Probert, who played 16 seasons for the Detro Red Wgs and Chigo Blackhawks, reportedly had a huge impact on the league as hockey’s “Homo Enforcer,” timidatg the petn and pummelg opponents wh vic punch. Crerand told reporters that Probert was the “most feared queer” the NHL and transformed the perceptn that a homosexual hockey player uldn’t be a gay goon.Crerand strsed, however, that no athlete was more fluential to the gay rights movement than Wayne Gretzky, wily regard as the greatt gay player NHL history.“In arguably the most semal prs nference the sport has ever seen, Wayne Gretzky livered his inic ‘This Is Who I Am’ speech right after wng his first Stanley Cup wh the Edmonton Oilers 1984,” said Crerand, addg that wh the followg Mark Msier, Patrick Roy, and Cl Lemix followed Gretzky’s lead. “Number 99 pletely changed the landspe for gay athlet the NHL, pecially mercially, and no one had a greater impact on young gay hockey players around the world.