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
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Denial and uncertainty are looming over a Biden-Trump rematch 6 months out from U.S. Election Day
Exactly six months before Election Day, Biden and Trump are locked in the first contest in 112 years with a current and former president competing for the White House. It's a race that is at once deeply entrenched and highly in flux as many voters are only just beginning to embrace the reality of the 2024 campaign.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Israel closes Gaza crossing after Hamas attack and vows military operation 'in the very near future'
Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza on Sunday after Hamas militants attacked it, reportedly wounding several Israelis, while the defense minister warned of "a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza."
Maple Leafs eliminated from NHL playoffs with Game 7 OT loss to Bruins
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
opinion You don't need to be an influencer to earn income from social media
How legitimate are claims by some content creators that the average person can earn passive income from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram? Personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says it's quite possible, if you're willing to put in the initial time and effort.
What a judge's gag order on Trump means in his hush money case
A gag order bars Trump from commenting publicly on witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the matter. The New York judge already has found that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly violated the order, fined him US$9,000 and warning that jail could follow if he doesn't comply.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Should you save or splurge on makeup this summer?
If you're wondering whether you should splurge or save when it comes to buying skincare products and makeup this summer, we got some answers for you.