NHL Tries To Combat Homophobia With The You Can Play Project

The four major professional sports leagues in the United States don’t exactly have incredible reputations when it comes to inclusiveness. In fact, none of them currently feature a single openly gay athlete, and in recent years, they’ve battled accusations of alleged homophobia, stories of overt homophobia and even overheard slurs. If the NHL has its way, however, those less than flattering headlines will start to change.

According to TMZ, the NHL and the Players’ Union have partnered together to launch a new program called the You Can Play Project. Founded by Philadelphia Flyers scout Patrick Burke whose brother came out in 2007 and then tragically died in a car accident three years ago, the Project will give a presentation at future rookie symposiums and provide an outlet for players to get counseling or ask questions concerning sexual orientation.

Maybe this Project will do a whole lot of good. Maybe it will provide a great place for players to talk it out, and maybe it will help a few people to realize different ways of life are completely acceptable too. Even if it doesn’t, however, at least it’s a sign that the NHL is trying. At least it’s a sign that everyone does have the right to play regardless of who they choose to love.

Bravo to the NHL for taking this first step. Here’s to hoping the league has plenty of happy, openly gay players sooner rather than later.

Mack Rawden
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.