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

Contents:

• GAY MALE HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE G OUT DROV, AND CHANGG THE SPORT’S CULTURE
• REPORT: NHL ACTUALLY HAS HAD HUNDREDS OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS FOR YEARS
• GAY HOCKEY PLAYER: NHL HYPOCRIL TO NMN BRENDAN LEIPSIC WHOUT CHANGG CULTURE
• PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY
• NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR THE LEAGUE
• LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY
• THIS GAY HOCKEY REFEREE LOV THE GAME. HOMOPHOBIA TELLS HIM THE GAME DON’T LOVE HIM BACK.

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

A slew of players me out, and wh each announcement, showed gay people belong on the ice. Gay former hockey player Brock McGillis spoke to Outsports multiple tim this year about the prevalence of homophobia locker rooms.

Durg the quiet of the sprgtime sports shutdowns, two well-known NHL players, Stanley Cup champn Dt Penner and wger Brendan Leipsic, were ught postg horribly homophobic and misogynistic msag on social media. When I go speak, I humanize beg a gay man and playg hockey at high levels.

Thomas Aquas College Upstate New York, Fkle often heard other players e anti-gay slurs. Fkle told the goalie he was gay, and that language was unacceptable to e on the ice — or anywhere, ankly. There are more openly gay figur all around the world of men’s hockey.

REPORT: NHL ACTUALLY HAS HAD HUNDREDS OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS FOR YEARS

This year alone, longtime NCAA Divisn 1 ref Brian Hicks announced he was gay; player and referee Gordie Mchard me out; pro announcer Jonathan Kliment penned his g-out story. After a lifetime of hearg gay sults the rk — opponents were always lled “cksuckers” or “fuckg fags” — Wton cid to e out to his teammat a heartfelt speech. Over the last , an creasg number of gay female Olympic hockey players have e out.

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

He was playg an ele youth league, but years of homophobia and self-hatred drove him away om the sport. And if someone asks if you are gay, jt look at them olly and say, ‘Yeah, so what? 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.

“Even though gay athlet still rry a stigma today, ’s nothg pared to the ’70s.

PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY

”“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. ”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. ”“That kiss really changed a lot of attus wh the hockey muny, ” Crerand 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.

NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR THE LEAGUE

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.

LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY

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.

“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. And that is, of urse, why the gay muny nicknamed him ‘The Great One. Louis, Rick Nash, Ryan Miller, Patrik Elias, Stephen Gnta, Clarke MacArthur, Patrick Dwyer, Mike Rupp, Carey Price, Dt Brown, Zbynek Michalek, Brad Richards, Derek Dorsett, Brian Boyle, David Krejci, Shea Weber, Derick Brassard, Sergei Gonchar, Bran Holtby, Brandon Dubsky, Stephane Robidas, Col Greeng, Jam Reimer, Kev Poul, Brandon Pst, Travis Hamonic, Mart Brour, Joakim Anrsson, Vcent Levalier, Josh Green, Daniel Aledsson, Joe Thornton, Arron Asham, Alexanr Steen, Michael Del Zotto, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Duchene, Teddy Purcell, Michael Ryr, Tomas Fleischmann, Lars Eller, Daniel Wnik, Jyri Niemi, Mikhail Grigorenko, Evanr Kane, David Back, Jiri Tlty, Sam Gagner, David Dharnais, Cody Franson, Steve Ott, Dt Byfuglien, Casey Cizikas, Daniel Sed, Brian Campbell, Ilya Kovalch, Chris Neil, Patrick Sharp, Jaromir Jagr, Hal Gill, Mark Grdano, Marc-Andre Flry, Ray Whney, Mike Cammalleri, Lee Stempniak, Jam van Riemsdyk, Mart Hanzal, David Clarkson, Vny Prospal, Taylor Hall, Ryan Getzlaf, Andrew Ladd, Alexanr Sem, Max Pacretty, Brenn Dillon, Jonathan Toews, Jordan Eberle, Marian Hossa, Frans Nielsen, Alex Galcheny, Bobby Ryan, Manny Malhotra, Mike Fisher, Bryan Ltle, Nail Yakupov, Patrick Marle, Jonathan Huber, Tyler Ennis, Craig Anrson, Saku Koivu, Shane Doan, Ryan Whe, Blake Wheeler, Evgeni Nabokov, Mark Fraser, Jeff Carter, Nicklas Backstrom, Michael Grabner, Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, John Tavar, Taylor Pyatt, Alex Burrows, Rene Bourque, Jason Chimera, Jofey Lupul, Corey Perry, Brad Stuart, Jt Williams, Matt Cullen, Marian Gaborik, Patrik Berglund, Brian Elltt, Josh Hardg, Daniel Cleary, Roberto Luongo, Nazem Kadri, Zach Parise, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Marc Staal, Jared Staal, Steven Stamkos, and Ryan Kler all g out as gay recent years.

Acrdg to experts, the league’s progrsive stance toward homosexualy also paved the way for the 2013 Philalphia Flyers, the only profsnal sports roster history to be prised entirely of gay players. “It’s nice to see the rt of the sports world begng to tch up to the NHL when to gay tolerance, ” said ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose, himself openly gay sce the early 1990s. “A lot of cred also has to go to Gary Bettman, still the only openly homosexual missner of a North Amerin sports league.

THIS GAY HOCKEY REFEREE LOV THE GAME. HOMOPHOBIA TELLS HIM THE GAME DON’T LOVE HIM BACK.

”“But whout a doubt, none of this would have been possible whout the unbelievable altism and open-mdns of the NHL fan base, ” add Melrose, “It’s far easier for players to be tly fortable their own sk knowg so many fans are gay too.

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. The play-by-play broadster for Uti, the New Jersey Devils' Amerin Hockey League affiliate, publicly me out as gay October 2021, fluenced by Prokop's cisn.