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 “prominent” 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 “extremely reluctant and afraid he’d be exposed.” 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 player’s identity unless he permitted it.
“It 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 didn’t feel they could even take the initial step to come out, let alone reveal themselves,” Harrington said in a phone interview.
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.
“I remember saying at the time (to the go-between): ‘You 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. I’m telling you, there’s an untapped market for someone like this … the Jackie Robinson of gays in sports.’ But, ultimately, it failed.
“I never knew who the player was and to this day I still don’t know who it was,” added Harrington, who retired last year after almost 44 years at CBC.
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