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“I was definitely expecting certain reactions from some people, and more times than not, they reacted better than I could have ever wished for,” Weston wrote. To his pleasant surprise, they immediately brought him in for a big bro hug. After a lifetime of hearing gay insults in the rink - opponents were always called “cocksuckers” or “fucking fags” - Weston decided to come out to his teammates in a heartfelt speech.
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Our most-read coming out story this year was the tale of Brock Weston, a college hockey player from Marion University in Indianapolis.
#Stan you gay meme pro#
On the pro level, Zach Sullivan, who plays in the EIHL, also came out as bisexual, and is part of a new generation of athletes fighting against bi-erasure. Each time, they had his back.įyrer can play hockey and be his authentic self.
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He came out to his teammates twice: once at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, and again at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. Imagine being a young hockey player and reading the story of Adam Fyrer.
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This year alone, longtime NCAA Division 1 ref Brian Hicks announced he was gay player and referee Gordie Mitchard came out pro announcer Jonathan Kliment penned his coming-out story. There are more openly gay figures all around the world of men’s hockey. Stephen Finkle dreams of being an NHL referee. It’s doubtful any of the kids on Finkle’s team will catch the odious habit of throwing around the f-word. “All these guys mean a lot to me because they have given me the courage to really have a chance to be myself going into my senior year of college,” Finkle wrote.Ĭurrently, Finkle coaches USA hockey from ages 8 to 18 at his local rink. They are all outspoken LGBTQ allies, and replied to Finkle with words of encouragement. They were Kyle Palmieri of the New Jersey Devils, Brayden McNabb of the Vegas Golden Knights, Michael Grabner of the Arizona Coyotes and Kurtis Gabriel of the San Jose Sharks. On a whim, he messaged four NHL players on social media, asking for advice and direction. The goalie apologized, and they wound up reaching the semifinals together.īut Finkle still didn’t feel right. Once he regained his composure, he decided on a more constructive way to get across his message: a face-to-face meeting.įinkle told the goalie he was gay, and that language was unacceptable to use on the ice - or anywhere, frankly. Immediately, Finkle skated up to his teammate, and punched him once or twice. The goalie called Finkle a “ fucking faggot.” During one practice, the venom was directed towards him. Thomas Aquinas College in Upstate New York, Finkle often heard other players use anti-gay slurs. That was certainly the case with Stephen Finkle’s teammates. I don’t think any of these players understand the impact it has.” When I go speak, I humanize being a gay man and playing hockey at high levels. “To me, the way to do it is, we need to humanize these issues. “We need to shift hockey culture,” McGillis told me. To McGillis, who came out in 2016 and was subsequently ousted without explanation from the association where he was coaching, their disturbing tirades are emblematic of a larger problem: hate-speech is part of the game’s culture - at least on the men’s side of things. During the quiet of the springtime sports shutdowns, two well-known NHL players, Stanley Cup champion Dustin Penner and winger Brendan Leipsic, were caught posting horribly homophobic and misogynistic messages on social media. Gay former hockey player Brock McGillis spoke to Outsports multiple times this year about the prevalence of homophobia in locker rooms. Hockey is in the midst of a cultural reckoning, with out and proud LGBTQ players leading the way. A slew of players came out, and with each announcement, showed gay people belong on the ice. Barriers were broken this year in the macho-fueled world of men’s ice hockey.