Openly Gay Hockey Player Says NHL Has Taken 'A Step Back for Incln'

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

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.

OPENLY GAY NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP CALLS OUT LACK OF 'INCLN' AFTER PLAYERS BOYTT PRI NIGHT

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.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

"Today I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay.

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.

PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY

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.

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

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.

LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY

"I want to be the first openly gay player to play the NHL, " he said.

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.

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

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.

“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.

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

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. 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.

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

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.

TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY

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.