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

Contents:

• NHL PROSPECT LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, A FIRST FOR THE LEAGUE
• LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY
• GAY MALE HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE G OUT DROV, AND CHANGG THE SPORT’S CULTURE
• PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY
• REPORT: NHL ACTUALLY HAS HAD HUNDREDS OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS FOR YEARS
• FAMEWATCHER SEARCH PRIMARY MENU SKIP TO NTENT HOMECELEBRY HAIR TRANSPLANTCELEBRY PLASTIC SURGERYCELEBRY LEATHER JACKETBODY SHAPER SEARCH FOR: HOT HOCKEY PLAYERSGAY HOCKEY PLAYERS LIST: COLLEGE AND PRO ATHLET
• FOR GAY HOCKEY PLAYER, LOCKER ROOM FELT LIKE A PRISON
• THIS GAY HOCKEY REFEREE LOV THE GAME. HOMOPHOBIA TELLS HIM THE GAME DON’T LOVE HIM BACK.
• AN INCLIVE NHL AWAS S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER

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

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.

LE PROKOP COM OUT AS GAY AND MAK NHL HISTORY

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. 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. A slew of players me out, and wh each announcement, showed gay people belong on the ice.

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

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. 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.

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.

PROKOP REFLECTS ON YEAR SCE G OUT AS GAY

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.

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? 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.

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.

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

”“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.

FAMEWATCHER SEARCH PRIMARY MENU SKIP TO NTENT HOMECELEBRY HAIR TRANSPLANTCELEBRY PLASTIC SURGERYCELEBRY LEATHER JACKETBODY SHAPER SEARCH FOR: HOT HOCKEY PLAYERSGAY HOCKEY PLAYERS LIST: COLLEGE AND PRO ATHLET

”“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.

“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. 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.

FOR GAY HOCKEY PLAYER, LOCKER ROOM FELT LIKE A PRISON

“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.

”“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. Unlike other sports such as gby and Amerin football, the world of hockey still has to see a gay profsnal hockey player e out of the closet.

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

This, of urse, do not mean that there aren’t any gay hockey, we ma a list hockey players who are out of the closet. Granted they’re jt a handful but we won’t be surprised if more gay hockey players – spired by the pneers – will e out the Lee Olsen. Apparently, he planned to e out when he was playg profsnally but the anti-gay jok he heard the locker room and worri about his job secury as a hockey player prompted him not ’s what he says about his g out: “It would be ial if I didn’t have to talk about this.

AN INCLIVE NHL AWAS S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER

We are wh you the hope that your story will enurage other gay hockey players to be themselv whether or outsi the game. Cotsonika as “the clost person to the NHL ever to e out publicly and say that he is gay” g out 2009 created que a stir the hockey world as his father, Brian Burke, is the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and of the US Olympic hockey team.

Brendan, on the left, wh kid brother Patrick Burke who now heads the NHL Department of Player Safety and -founr of the You Can Play Project which seeks to elimate “homophobic culture found some rners of hockey” McGillis, who once played for the Ontar Hockey League, me out as gay a November 2016 article on Yahoo Sports.