"A steamy Canadian television show centering on a gay hockey romance has swept the nation after launching on HBO Max, but one real-life gay hockey player doesn't think the show will make any actual professional players want to come out. In 2016, Brock McGillis became the first ever out gay professional hockey player. He recently told Pink News that he disagrees "wholeheartedly" with the idea that the show will help queer players feel more comfortable being open about their sexuality."
""If a player did come out, hockey players would be the most likely to rally around their teammate more than any of the other big sports," he posited. The problem, he said, is that players don't realize how problematic their words can be and how they might keep people in the closet. He said one thing about hockey culture that the show does not portray accurately is just how normalized homophobia is in daily conversations."
Brock McGillis became the first ever out gay professional hockey player in 2016. A steamy Canadian television show about a gay hockey romance launched on HBO Max and quickly gained national attention. McGillis disagrees wholeheartedly that the show will encourage professional players to come out and believes it could instead make the storyline a locker-room joke. McGillis notes that hockey players generally are supportive teammates but daily locker-room language and attitudes often normalize homophobia. Early, repeated homophobic language programs players to fear social rejection and career loss if they come out, reinforcing closet dynamics.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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