Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis wouldnât be surprised to see an NHL player eventually come out as gay.
âI think forget sports ⊠I think weâre in a society now that people do come out,â he said.
Thereâs no doubt there have been gay players in the NHL before and that there are some today. But they obviously donât feel comfortable coming out publicly in a league that still has a well-earned reputation for being an âold boysâ club.â
About 25 years ago, Tom Harrington was a CBC sports reporter and host of the Sports Journal magazine show. He was researching a story about an NHL player who was gay while working with a go-between who ran a support group in Toronto that helped professional and amateur athletes who were gay. Harrington was told there was a âprominentâ NHL player who had been thinking about coming out.
During the next year-and-a-half, Harrington said he worked with his go-between trying to convince the NHL player to do an interview, but the player was âextremely reluctant and afraid heâd be exposed.â Harrington tried to arrange a phone interview or a meeting with the player, who asked if his voice could be disguised in a phone call in case Harrington recognized him. Harrington promised the go-between he would never reveal the playerâs identity unless he permitted it.
âIt was a step closer to the beginning of something, but it was also a window into just how terrified he was, and it said a lot about the culture at the time in professional male sports, where players didnât feel they could even take the initial step to come out, let alone reveal themselves,â Harrington said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Harrington said the player eventually decided not to come out, saying he was too scared of the impact it would have on his family, hockey career and his life after hockey.
âI remember saying at the time (to the go-between): âYou know, there are a lot of people who would be very supportive of him. There would be businesses lining up to sponsor him to have him as a spokesperson. Iâm telling you, thereâs an untapped market for someone like this ⊠the Jackie Robinson of gays in sports.â But, ultimately, it failed.
âI never knew who the player was and to this day I still donât know who it was,â added Harrington, who retired last year after almost 44 years at CBC.
thinking of this guy this pride month
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