Professional Hockey Players to Combat Homophobia
Thirty players in the National Hockey League have joined a campaign intended to promote gay and lesbian equality in sports with a television ad that will premiere during Sunday's matchup of the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.
The campaign, called "You Can Play," aims to combat what its organizers call an atmosphere of "casual homophobia" in locker rooms, in which slurs are carelessly used, creating a difficult atmosphere for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender athletes.
"You've got this thing where people don't think there are, or choose not to believe there are, gay athletes in their locker rooms," said Patrick Burke, a talent scout for the Philadelphia Flyers who is one of the co-founders of the program.
Burke said he hoped the campaign could help to persuade closeted pro athletes to identify themselves publicly, so that they can serve as role models for school-age gay and lesbian athletes. At the moment, there are no players in the four major U.S. sports leagues -- which also include the National Football League, Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association -- who have publicly identified themselves as gay, organizers said.
"You get what we call casual homophobia, with people almost always not realizing the effect it has on the kid in the corner of the locker room who is gay and is trying to keep it a secret," said Burke.
The campaign consists of a series of video clips initially starring 30 professional hockey players, with the athletes telling the camera "if you can play, you can play" - meaning they are concerned with their teammates skill on the ice, not their sexual orientation.
Burke declined to name any of the participating athletes ahead of the debut of the first ad. It has echoes of the national "It Gets Better" Campaign, launched in 2010 by syndicated columnist Dan Savage in response to a number of suicides by teenagers who were bullied because of their sexuality.
But "You Can Play" focuses solely on acceptance of gay athletes in sports, said Burke, whose brother Brendan, a manager of the Miami University ice hockey team, came out as gay in 2009 and died a year later in a car accident.
While the campaign starts with hockey players, Burke aims to recruit athletes from other professional leagues.
UPDATE: It features the following players: Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets; Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks; Brian Boyle of the New York Rangers; Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders; Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs; Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers; Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators; Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers; Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks; Andy Greene of the New Jersey Devils; Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs; and Henrik Lundqvist (pictured) of the New York Rangers.
The campaign, called "You Can Play," aims to combat what its organizers call an atmosphere of "casual homophobia" in locker rooms, in which slurs are carelessly used, creating a difficult atmosphere for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender athletes.
"You've got this thing where people don't think there are, or choose not to believe there are, gay athletes in their locker rooms," said Patrick Burke, a talent scout for the Philadelphia Flyers who is one of the co-founders of the program.
Burke said he hoped the campaign could help to persuade closeted pro athletes to identify themselves publicly, so that they can serve as role models for school-age gay and lesbian athletes. At the moment, there are no players in the four major U.S. sports leagues -- which also include the National Football League, Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association -- who have publicly identified themselves as gay, organizers said.
"You get what we call casual homophobia, with people almost always not realizing the effect it has on the kid in the corner of the locker room who is gay and is trying to keep it a secret," said Burke.
The campaign consists of a series of video clips initially starring 30 professional hockey players, with the athletes telling the camera "if you can play, you can play" - meaning they are concerned with their teammates skill on the ice, not their sexual orientation.
Burke declined to name any of the participating athletes ahead of the debut of the first ad. It has echoes of the national "It Gets Better" Campaign, launched in 2010 by syndicated columnist Dan Savage in response to a number of suicides by teenagers who were bullied because of their sexuality.
But "You Can Play" focuses solely on acceptance of gay athletes in sports, said Burke, whose brother Brendan, a manager of the Miami University ice hockey team, came out as gay in 2009 and died a year later in a car accident.
While the campaign starts with hockey players, Burke aims to recruit athletes from other professional leagues.
UPDATE: It features the following players: Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets; Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks; Brian Boyle of the New York Rangers; Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders; Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs; Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers; Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators; Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers; Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks; Andy Greene of the New Jersey Devils; Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs; and Henrik Lundqvist (pictured) of the New York Rangers.
It also features Brian and Patrick Burke, carrying on the legacy and preaching the message inspired by the late Brendan Burke, who came out in Nov. 2009 and immediately changed the perceptions for gays in hockey for millions of fans and athletes.
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