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.
Contents:
- JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS
- OPENLY GAY NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP CALLS OUT LACK OF 'INCLN' AFTER PLAYERS BOYTT PRI NIGHT
- JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
- PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY
- THIS GAY HOCKEY REFEREE LOV THE GAME. HOMOPHOBIA TELLS HIM THE GAME DON’T LOVE HIM BACK.
- LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY
- NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR THE LEAGUE
- REPORT: NHL ACTUALLY HAS HAD HUNDREDS OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS FOR YEARS
- GAY MALE HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE G OUT DROV, AND CHANGG THE SPORT’S CULTURE
- TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS
Jacksonville Jaguars ach Kev Maxen, who joed the team last year, me out publicly as gay an terview wh Outsports published on Thursday, beg the first ach a U.S. men’s profsnal league to do so" emprop="scriptn * gay players in hockey *
The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars strength ach, Kev Maxen, has e out as gay — makg him the first male ach a U. While Maxen is believed to be the first male ach to have e out publicly as gay, there have been a few female ach U. When to players, there have only been 16 the history of the NFL to e out as gay or bisexual as of September 2022, per Outsports.
20-year-old Prokop, the first openly gay player wh a ntract unr the NHL, penned a thoughtful msage about players the league who have opposed wearg pri jerseys or g rabow stick tape durg their teams' annual pri events.
Prokop me out as gay 2021, one year after beg selected by the Nashville team the 2020 NHL Draft. "Today I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay.
OPENLY GAY NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP CALLS OUT LACK OF 'INCLN' AFTER PLAYERS BOYTT PRI NIGHT
Kev Maxen, an associate strength ach wh the Jacksonville Jaguars, has bee the first male ach a major U.S.-based profsnal league to e out as gay. * gay players in hockey *
Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. In this story:Jacksonville JaguarsJaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen beme the first publicly-known male ach Amerin men’s profsnal sports to e out as gay Thursday.Maxen spoke wh Outsports to share his journey and why he’s choosg to e out publicly.“I don’t want to feel like I have to thk about anymore,” Maxen said. I want to be vol support of people livg how they want to live, but I also want to jt live and not feel fear about how people will react.”Maxen, who has been wh his partner Nick for over two years, exprsed that the ntued support om the people around him helped him feel fortable to share his news.“It wasn’t until recently—and wh the immense love and support of my fay, my iends, lleagu and peers, and the urage and sacrifice om my partner—that I realized I have the right and rponsibily to love and be loved, and that maybe sharg this will hopefully give someone else the strength to accept their own life and take ntrol of their own story,” Maxen said.Maxen also noted that he reached out to Carl Nassib, who is the only known gay NFL player the league right now, back Feb.
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.
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.
JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
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 players in hockey *
The 12U hockey ach yellg at me om the bench durg a tournament I was officiatg was referrg to a small pri sticker I put on my helmet after seeg one on the helmet of my favore official, Dre Barone, an out gay AHL (at the time ECHL) official. It wasn’t the first time I had experienced homophobia hockey – That happened well before the locker room durg my playg days.
Acrdg to gay hockey referee Tyler, this helmet sticker upset a lot of people.
However, hate and homophobia are still there the game. While USA Hockey has updated l to clu harsher penalti for homophobic and racist language before, durg, and after gam, is still there. More recently, a 12-year-old player was makg homophobic ments to me om the bench while I skated by, and after the third time I gave the bench a penalty.
PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY
* gay players in hockey *
“You’re beg soft bee you’re gay, ” the ach told me. When that same player received another penalty om me (at the time I didn’t realize that was the same player), I got another homophobic tira om the ach.
“You’re targetg him bee you’re gay and he ma those ments, ” the ach said. Hockey has ma stris terms of workg on some of s culture problems, but I thk homophobia is still an issue that needs a lot of attentn. Associatns n do their part by makg sure there are clear l agast homophobic, racist and discrimatory actns and ments, and by followg through on punishment of those who break those l.
Whenever I enunter homophobia hockey, I am remd that I love the game, and I want to give back, but sometim feels like the game don’t love me back. Le Prokop, a prospect for the Nashville Predators, me out as gay on Monday.
THIS GAY HOCKEY REFEREE LOV THE GAME. HOMOPHOBIA TELLS HIM THE GAME DON’T LOVE HIM BACK.
NEW YORK—In the wake of NBA center Jason Colls and U.S. 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. * gay players in hockey *
Nashville Predators prospect Le Prokop has e out as gay, beg the first active player unr ntract to an NHL team to do so. High-level female hockey players, such as Olympic gold medalist Meghan Duggan, have prevly e out as gay, acrdg to the league. Prokop's announcement ls than a month after Las Vegas Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay.
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.
LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY
Many gay male hockey players and officials me out on Outsports this year. Together, they’re makg the sport’s culture more clive. * gay players in hockey *
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 Week's Most Viral News: September 1, 2023OffEnglishSourc 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.
”“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.
NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR THE LEAGUE
”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.
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.
REPORT: NHL ACTUALLY HAS HAD HUNDREDS OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS FOR YEARS
“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.
GAY MALE HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE G OUT DROV, AND CHANGG THE SPORT’S CULTURE
”“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.
A slew of players me out, and wh each announcement, showed gay people belong on the ice.
TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY
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.