An Inclive NHL Awas s First Openly Gay Player

Contents:

• LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY
• PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY
• HOCKEY STAR LE PROKOP BE FIRST ACTIVE NHL PLAYER TO COME OUT AS GAY
• NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR THE LEAGUE
• NASHVILLE PREDATORS PROSPECT LE PROKOP SAYS HE IS GAY, HOP LIVG 'THENTIC LIFE' HELPS NHL REER
• GAY MALE HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE G OUT DROV, AND CHANGG THE SPORT’S CULTURE
• HOCKEY PROSPECT LE PROKOP: 5 THGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NHL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• AN INCLIVE NHL AWAS S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• PREDATORS’ PROSPECT MAK HISTORY AS FIRST GAY PLAYER UNR CONTRACT
• NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP ANNOUNC HE'S GAY
• AN N.H.L. PROSPECT IS THE FIRST SUCH PLAYER TO ANNOUNCE HE’S GAY
• NASHVILLE PREDATORS PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT, BE FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER NHL HISTORY

LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY

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. 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. 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.

PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY

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

”The 19-year-old right-hand fenseman beme the first active player for the Natnal Hockey League (NHL) to e out as gay a statement posted to his Instagram acunt. "“I hope that sharg who I am I n help other people see that gay people are wele the hockey muny, ” he wrote on social an terview wh ESPN, Prokop said the COVID-19 panmic spired his historic cisn to open up about his sexual orientatn. No active NHL player has ever e out as gay while still playg the league, and jt one out athlete any of the four major men’s sports the U.

I want to live the way I want to, and I want to accept myself as a gay man. ”Prokop’s g out is particularly signifint the wake of Natnal Football League (NFL) player Carl Nassib’s historic claratn June that he is a gay man. Nassib, a 28-year-old fensive end for the Las Vegas Rairs, is the first active NFL athlete to e out as gay.

HOCKEY STAR LE PROKOP BE FIRST ACTIVE NHL PLAYER TO COME OUT AS GAY

'"Prokop began g out to some fay members and teammat this past year and told Predators management he was gay June.

""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, " Prokop wrote. 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.

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

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.

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.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS PROSPECT LE PROKOP SAYS HE IS GAY, HOP LIVG 'THENTIC LIFE' HELPS NHL REER

Over the last , an creasg number of gay female Olympic hockey players have e out. 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?

This year will be pecially profound for the NFL and NHL, wh Carl Nassib of the Las Vegas Rairs anticipated to take the gridiron this fall, and bee the first gay NFL player to play a regular season game.

Nashville Predators' prospect Le Prokop, who me out earlier this summer, hop to be the first gay player to h the ice the NHL this fall. "Exactly one year ago, I spoke wh Brock Wton, who, fed up wh his hockey teammat' homophobia and rampant gay slurs, cid to try to end their behavr by boldly g out. '"I had the opportuny to speak to Prokop between the Predators' practice ssns on Wednday, and I asked him if he enuntered homophobic slurs durg his reer, and if that might have been one of the reasons for him to e out?

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

"Y, obvly 's sort of a known thg that homophobic slurs occur, not jt hockey but a lot of sports, so my hope was that by g out, I uld have an impact on that, and help shift the language. "It's really difficult to say, sce each player who is gay has their own and very different story, so all pends on their circumstance.

There has never been an openly gay player the NHL. Not one player the league’s 103-year existence has ever e out publicly as gay – not even retirement. I have heard the explanatns, rangg om the ludicro (there are no “gays” the league) to the simplistic (the game’s hateful, toxic male culture driv gay players unrground).

I believe, however, that won’t be long before the NHL has openly gay players lacg up their skat and others workg the ranks of management and hockey operatns. Related: Is the NHL Ready for a Gay Player? NHL missner Gary Bettman regnized this 2016 when he spoke about the league’s partnership wh the You Can Play anizatn, workg to dismantle barriers met by gay athlet sport.

HOCKEY PROSPECT LE PROKOP: 5 THGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NHL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER

But I thk ’s our job to create a culture and an environment where a gay player knows he is safe and wele. If and when that happens, believe me, that person will have the full support of the missner’s office” (om “Gary Bettman says NHL is ready for s first openly gay player, ” The Chigo Tribune, 29/06/2016) Commissner Gary Bettman (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)Today, hockey mt reflect the changg valu of s fan base. Fans of the future will not accept homophobia the sports and entertament products they Are No Gay Players the NHL.., there are now and always have been gay players the NHL.

Admtedly, precise timat of the gay populatn the league are notorly difficult to fd. Nohels, acrdg to a 2017 Gallup study based on 340, 000 terviews, the percentage of Amerin adults intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr 2017 was 4.

Takg to acunt the multatnal makp of the NHL, let’s assume gay men make up half that number or 2. If the assumptns hold then, wh roughly 700 players the NHL, we n reasonably expect at least 15 gay players the league any given year.

AN INCLIVE NHL AWAS S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER

That means that, over the years, there have probably been several hundred gay NHLers, all of whom prumably kept their sexual orientatn hidn om the still sist that, notwhstandg the odds, there are simply no gay men playg the NHL. Mark Tewksbury, an Olympic gold medalist swimmg at the 1992 Olympic gam, a former chef missn of Canada’s 2012 Summer Olympic team and a proment gay activist sports for many years, sffs at that ia. Canadian Olympian Mark Tewksbury on Gay Players the NHLAsked a Canadian Broadstg Corporatn terview why there are no gay players the NHL, he uld barely nta a lgh.

Rollg his ey, he explaed, “There’s no gay hockey players bee there haven’t been any the NHL who’ve ever e out, not even retirement.

There Probably Are Gay Players the NHL. What’s more, no public figure should have to face the expectatn of beg the poster child for gay rights if they don’t want to be.

PREDATORS’ PROSPECT MAK HISTORY AS FIRST GAY PLAYER UNR CONTRACT

If ed there are no gay players the NHL, that would set the league apart om the other “Big Four” profsnal sports leagu North Ameri. The Natnal Football League has had seven openly gay players. Major League Baseball has had two players who were openly gay.

NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP ANNOUNC HE'S GAY

One of whom was Glenn Burke, who me out while he was playg for the Oakland Athletics back 1977, and who said, “They n’t ever say now that a gay man n’t play the majors, bee I’m a gay man and I ma . ” The Natnal Basketball Associatn has had two players who me out as gay, one durg his fal year the league.

Speakg of the absence of openly gay players the NHL, Tampa Bay Lightng goaltenr Anrs Nilsson, a proment supporter of the LGBT+ muny, said, “When people say there are three to four gay players on each [NHL] team, I say no, absolutely not. ” He further explaed that if he had been gay, playg as a teen, he would have qu bee of the homophobic slurs on the ice, the drsg rooms and the stands – all over the hockey Nilsson as an Ottawa Senator (Js Starr/The Hockey Wrers)So, what’s up wh the NHL? While there may be very few gay players the league or perhaps none at any given moment, ’s clear that over the s, there mt have been many skatg Hockey Culture to Blame?

AN N.H.L. PROSPECT IS THE FIRST SUCH PLAYER TO ANNOUNCE HE’S GAY

Many claim the culture of hockey driv gay players unrground.

One of them is Brock McGillis, now an LGBTQ+ activist who played profsnal hockey the mor leagu and was one of the first pros to e out publicly as gay. He explaed, “There’s this ia that to be a hockey player, you have to be macho, hyper-mascule, a ‘bro’ tough guy…And the language and attus and actns wh the sport almost give the ia that if you’re gay, you’re ls than the thgs.

You’re weak, you’re soft, you’re effemate” (om “Culture of Hockey: Q&A wh Brock McGillis, the first openly gay pro hockey player, ” The Hockey News, 04/12/2019) slurs are mon hockey om midget hoe leagu to major junr and llege. (om “Hockey and Homophobia: We are All Complic, ” The Globe and Mail, 21/04/2016)McGillis poted to Mark Crawford’s one-month spensn 2019 as an example of the anti-gay culture that still permeat the league.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT, BE FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER NHL HISTORY

At the time, Crawford was an assistant ach wh the Chigo Blackhawks spend for g homophobic language directed at his players. Marc Crawford (THW Archiv)Worse still, former Calgary Flam head ach Bill Peters lost his job for g racist and, acrdg to McGillis, homophobic language. McGillis asked, “Do you really thk a gay player is g out ( that culture)?

” This all mak very difficult for gay players to e out. Comg out as gay means riskg ridicule, nmnatn, straed relatnships and possibly missed opportuni to play. Sce 2016, they’ve been an official partner of You Can Play, -found by Patrick Burke, a sut for the Philalphia Flyers and son of renowned hockey executive, broadster and gay rights activist Brian Burke, now vice print of hockey operatns for the Ptsburgh Pengus.

The Burk got volved to memorialize Brendan Burke, Brian’s son, who was gay and volved llege hockey the U.