Bayne Pettger, NHL's first openly gay hockey player agent, says the league's recent cisn to ban teams om donng Pri jerseys uld alienate the queer muny and disurage their participatn and support the game.
Contents:
- PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY
- NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR THE LEAGUE
- NHL PLAYER'S BOYTT OF TEAM'S PRI NIGHT TRIBUTE 'DISRPECTFUL' TO GAY MUNY: AGENT
- CALLG PRI JERSEYS A DISTRACTN IS SENDG THE WRONG MSAGE, SAYS NHL'S FIRST OPENLY-GAY AGENT
PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY
Le Prokop said feels much longer than a year sce he beme the first player unr ntract to an NHL team to e out as gay. * gay pride hockey player *
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. "I want to be the first openly gay player to play the NHL, " he said. I’m so angered and trated that they nsistently refe to change, so they endorse a homophobic player and his ach fendg him — DeBksMethod? (@BksMethod) January 18, 2023.
Canadian TV host says the @NHL should “fe the Flyers a billn dollars” and “attack” Christian player Ivan Provorov for not wearg a gay pri jersey. Natnal Hockey League prospect Le Prokop me out as gay via a heartfelt statement to fans Monday, sayg he hoped would improve gay visibily wh the hockey muny. “I hope that sharg who I am I n help other people see that gay people are wele the hockey muny, as we work to make sure that hockey is tly for everyone, ” he wrote.
Prokop hasn’t played an NHL game yet, but if he do, he’ll jo que a small club: There have only been two openly gay active players the four largt US sports leagu – Carl Nassib of the NFL’s Las Vegas Rairs, who me out last month, and Jason Colls, an NBA veteran who me out 2013 and retired the followg season. Homophobic language is often ed among ach and players on youth sports teams. This n evolve to lastg homophobic attus or e gay players to hi their sexualy om their teammat, said Erik Denison, a behavral scientist and lead rearcher on the Sport Incln Project at Monash Universy Atralia, a June terview wh CNN.
NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR THE LEAGUE
Prokop, who was drafted by the Nashville Predators last year, me out as gay wh a heartfelt statement to fans this week, an admissn he said he hoped would improve gay visibily wh the hockey muny. * gay pride hockey player *
On Wednday, Chigo cid agast havg players wear Pri-themed warmup jerseys for their upg Pri night, cg an anti-gay law Staal brothers and San Jose's Jam Reimer — who are Canadian — and Philalphia's Ivan Provorov, who is Rsian, all poted to their relig beliefs for refg to take part warmups. It’s igned a bate over clivy and personal eedom 's vasn of Ukrae and the anti-gay law signed by Print Vladimir Put December have bed to pose some problems for the NHL and s 32 North Amerin profsnal sports league has as many Rsian players as the NHL. "Relign and rpect are not nflict wh each other, and we are certaly disappoted when relign is ed as a reason to not support our muny, " the anizatn ' Jam Reimer cl to wear Pri-themed jerseyNashville Predators prospect Le Prokop, who 2021 ma history as the first player signed to an NHL ntract to e out as gay, lled the Pri night cints a "step back" for hockey.
Provorov’s polarizg cisn is remiscent of Tampa Bay Rays pchers who were labeled "bigots" for clg to wear gay pri patch durg an LGBTQ celebratn June. He poted out that the NHL has never had a sgle openly gay player history. Canadian sports pund Sid Seixeiro lled on the NHL to fe the Flyers "$1 ln, " NHL Network senr reporter EJ Hrak suggted the Rsia-born Flyer player should go back to his homeland and jo the fight agast Ukrae if participatg Pri events is "that problematic for him, " ESPN senr NHL wrer Greg Wyshynski lled out Provorov for prevly participatg the Flyers' ary appreciatn event and a plethora of other high-profile punds have nounced him as, who is gay, feels the pivot om simply tryg to make the game more clive to force-feedg activism on athlet has a negative impact.
NHL PLAYER'S BOYTT OF TEAM'S PRI NIGHT TRIBUTE 'DISRPECTFUL' TO GAY MUNY: AGENT
Casey Flor, a gay Republin activist, believ attempts to embrace the LGBTQ muny are often "exclnary" bee voic of relig mori aren’t nsired. "I'm really disappoted, as a gay man wh that, bee we all have to get along. "What the left miss is that this is the greatt untry the world and this is the greatt untry the world to be gay .
CALLG PRI JERSEYS A DISTRACTN IS SENDG THE WRONG MSAGE, SAYS NHL'S FIRST OPENLY-GAY AGENT
We n marry, we n adopt, and we nnot be fired for beg gay, and I don't know what more they want, " Flor ntued. The power of visibily shows young LGBTQ athlet ’s possible to thrive as their te selv, spe the prevalence of sual homophobia and other anti-gay attus some rners of the sports world.
Gat wr about how hearg “faggot” on the ice was a mon occurrence growg up, and that “llg someone gay was as much a part of youth hockey as parents yellg about a missed penalty. But that msage is unrcut when players don’t buy , and teams pulate to their homophobia. "'Wearg Pri lours shows rpect': You Can Play rponds to Provorov boytt of Flyers' tributeBayne Pettger, a Toronto-based NHLPA certified player agent who me out as gay 2020, said he was disappoted by Provorov's cisn to e his platform for "sentially a prott" that sends a msage to hockey fans and his teammat who did take part the warmup.