Hockey player coming out as gay must lead to meaningful change in game: advocates
Advocates say a young hockey player's decision to come out as gay this past week, just as he is on the cusp of a possible National Hockey League career, needs to be a catalyst for meaningful cultural change in the game beyond Pride nights and rainbow tape.
“It is a phenomenal thing, but it's not because the (hockey) culture made it safe,” said Brock McGillis, a former goalie who played professionally in North America and Europe.
“For every Luke Prokop there are a thousand (LGBTQ) kids quitting hockey.”
McGillis, who came out five years ago after his career ended, spoke extensively to Prokop before the 19-year-old made his announcement. Based in Toronto, McGillis has become a voice for LGBTQ issues in hockey with the aim of creating safe spaces in the insular world of dressing rooms and rinks.
He has worked on inclusion with individual teams at high levels, but said he has been stymied in bringing in leaguewide changes.
A patchwork approach won't work, he said.
“You can do all the PR stuff you want … but what are you doing to make that dressing room more of a safe space instead of a space that is filled with homophobic language and where people don't feel comfortable? How are you humanizing these issues and how are you shifting your culture?”
Prokop, from Edmonton, has been playing junior hockey for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. A defenceman, he was picked 73 overall by the NHL's Nashville Predators last year, will go to camp this fall and could become the first openly gay player in the NHL.
“We pledge to do everything possible to ensure that Luke's experience is a welcoming and affirmative one,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib came out last month as the first openly gay player in the National Football League.
Kristopher Wells, an advocate and researcher, says it's critical to have LGBTQ role models in sport.
“People listen to their heroes,” said Wells, an associate professor and research chair for public understanding of sexual and gender minority youth at MacEwan University in Edmonton.
“When young people see their role models stand up, they want to emulate that behaviour and be a part of those new social norms that are forming.”
Wells said true change starts with a supportive group in the locker room or a captain telling a teammate that homophobic slurs won't be tolerated.
That way, he said, those who decide to come out won't have to swap one set of anxieties for another.
“Why Luke's decision is seen as being so courageous is not just because he's the first, but (because) all LGBTQ people know the moment you become visible (when) you come out, you're more likely to be victimized. You become a target. And that's not easy to deal with.”
Cheryl MacDonald is a sports sociologist who has researched and written extensively on homophobia in hockey. She said Prokop's high skill levels will serve to insulate him somewhat, but he'll still have to navigate the bias of some decision-makers who laud inclusivity in public, but act differently in private.
“Luke's story is evidence that it is becoming safer to be an openly gay man in men's competitive professional hockey, but since he's the only one right now, that shows we have work to do,” said MacDonald with Saint Mary's University in Halifax.
“My research has shown that if you can perform on the ice, what you do in your spare time matters less. (But) at very top levels of the game, it is difficult to be different.”
And that doesn't just apply to being gay, she added.
“If you are concussed or injured, if you are dealing with drug and alcohol addiction problems, if you have mental-health problems, if you don't fit in somehow, chances are there is someone that has your skill set and less perceived baggage that will take your job. It's easier just to stay quiet.
“Until we change this idea that you can't just be yourself and be taken where you're at, it's going to be practically impossible to be a gay man in this game.”
McGillis said the potential is there.
“I think hockey people are really good people. I just don't think they realize there's a problem,” he said.
“(They) will rally. We just need to show them this is something to rally around.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 25, 2021
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.