I have seen alot of fic characterizing the Montreal team as rotten to the core from the very jump. That they never connected with Shane, that they were always blatantly, overtly, and violently racist, homophobic, and misogynistic, that they never respected him as the captain, and that they didn't ever consider him a friend. And I just think that's such a dumb take for two main reasons:
Betrayal isn't betrayal if there wasn't anything there to betray. If they were never Shane's peers and friends outside the bounds of coworkers who also suck and you don't want to be friends with, then it wouldn't matter that they ended up dropping him the second they found out. If they never liked Shane, they wouldn't have been so blindsided and angry that he lied to them. They wouldn't have personally cared. They would have cared for professional reasons (team dynamics) and they would have cared for homophobic (gay panic defense/gay is a yucky yucky sin) and toxic masculinity reasons (our captain being gay means he's not a man and if a man isn't leading us then we aren't men and I will violently oppose anyone who threatens my ability to be perceived as a man). But they cared personally. They felt personally betrayed (especially JJ) that someone who they considered their friend:
a. lied to them (this is someone indirectly telling you that you aren't safe; which does hurt. there are seven million reasons why that hurt is not allowed to be translated into anger at that person. but it is still pain. and it still hurts.) or
b. placed them in a position of vulnerability, thereby breaching the social construct that Shane, as the hockey god of Montreal, elevates their status by association. He'd never broken it before bc he was too busy being the Goodest Canadian Ever™️and they had likely gotten complacent that he ever could. Shane existing as his public image brought his teammates positive attention and value that they expected from him. And when he threatened to take it away by being gay they freaked out. Him being with Ilya made it immediately a million times worse. (for racism issues and toxic masculinity issues and homophobia issues again)
2. That is not how people work. People are not cartoon characters or value allegories. They are, by and large, existing the best they know how to exist and are making all of their decisions in the best way they know how to, and in the way that makes them the most safe. These guys are in a world that demands perfect adherence to a certain standard of masculinity, rewards them when they do and punishes them when they fail. They are doing well at that system and they will perpetuate it bc it makes them safe. They do not think they are bad people. They evaluate their social and political decisions based on how to feel secure, just like everyone else. They need to win to feel good and they need to have team cohesion with their captain to win. They are all motivated to make Shane like them. They don't need to know him personally, but they do need to know Captain Shane. They don't know what he likes or how to do that largely, but they fall back on general rules for how to get a man's approval and do that. They know they need him technically and strategically. They are not too stupid to understand Shane's impact on the team and their win record. They like the results of his obsession- they won back to back cups (that is an actually astounding accomplishment) after a slump where they didn't even make the playoffs for 6 years until Shane joined the team. They like him because liking him is how they prove to themselves that they are successful (they're in the same room/team/line as Shane Hollander, hockey legend; they are good enough to be there). They invite him to their weddings and parties. They brag about knowing him. They respect him. Yeah, they're doing alot of that bc it rewards their own ego, but the result is the same.
It has to be real for it to hurt. And it hurts because it is real. I think more discourse should explore that. It is bad to be betrayed, but that badness can only come from a place where there was good.
All of this. Also, a team does not win three Stanley Cups together if they can’t work together. Yeah, all the camaraderie falls apart after Shane is honest with his teammates about who he really is. But that doesn’t mean the camaraderie was never there in the first place.
The Metros resent Shane for coming out to them, and forcing them to deal with an aspect of his life that makes them uncomfortable. Because back when they still thought he was straight, they genuinely admired him. They resent him for spoiling that image they had of him with the truth.
