Zach is a gay hockey player. He’s been skating since he was a kid and moved up through the ranks from his area’s youth hockey leagues to where he is now, playing D for a perennial powerhouse high school team in the upper Midwest – a program that is no stranger to the playoffs and championships.

Zach is not publicly out, but Craig from Puck Buddys sent me a long email detailing how they confirmed his identity. And there is a chance Zach will be more out as his season progresses.

I like these kinds of features, but I found Part 1 lacking. It is all about Zach’s hockey routine and what hockey means to him. Those are worthy topics, but I wanted to hear about how Zach’s sexual orientation and how it intersects with his sport, his team and his life. They are promising this in future installments, but  this should have been in Part 1 since his being gay is what separates Zach from most of his peers and why Puck Buddys would be interested in his story in the first place.

Share on Facebook

Brian Healey

This is cool — players from the men’s and women’s basketball teams, men’s hockey team and tennis team have combined to produce an It Gets Better video for St. Michael’s College in Vermont.

One of the editors of the video is Brian Healey, captain of the Purple Knights men’s tennis team, who says this:

I’m an out college athlete and I’m proud to say my teammates support me as much as I support them on and off the court.

The video is a must-see and shows the power of an institution getting behind making athletics safe for LGBT athletes. Healey is the only athlete self-identified as gay in the video, which means there are a ton of gay allies at the school. Hearing hockey player Brady Earle say, “we will not tolerate bullying of any kind” is terrific and if I was a gay hockey player considering a school, the welcoming environment at St. Michael’s would be appealing (along with its excellent academics).

Related: Other sports It Gets Better videos.

Share on Facebook

Check out the video after the jump. 

Hat tip to Ross Forman.

Share on Facebook

I think the overall impact I am making in Chicago is really just helping to push the needle a little further for progressive change. Showing youth in the city and around the country that they can make a difference, and that they can be who they want to be without fear in society. I hope that Chicago embraces me coming-out as the student body president at the largest Catholic university in the nation as a sign that times are changing and people are becoming more tolerant and accepting of others for who they are.

Alfano has played hockey since he was a toddler; He now plays with the Chicago Gay Hockey Association.

Hat tip to Ross Forman; Photo by Ross Forman.

Share on Facebook

Watch a quick preview of the doc after the jump.

Share on Facebook

“I was so excited for him to see his first hockey game. It wasn’t like Jon and I were all over each other with public displays, but during the game we sat closer than straight guys normally would, and several times Jon clearly showed affection, like putting his hand on my thigh. We weren’t hiding anything, but at the time, we weren’t about to make out in front of a bunch of die-hard hockey fans. During the game Jon and I held hands, maybe blatantly obvious to passers-by, but if you looked hard enough you could definitely tell that Jon and I were a couple.

After our hockey game (he bought the tickets as a surprise), it got me thinking – will there ever be a time when I can go to a Stars game and not be afraid to kiss my boyfriend in between plays or periods? I think this is something every gay hockey fan has thought about at one point or another, and I’m curious to hear from other guys around here if they’ve been in the same position.

There’s not much else to the story, no drama, but it did get me to thinking about whether other readers have taken dates to sporting events. If so, were you nervous about PDAs and did you try and pass as just a couple of buds hanging out? These are issues straight couples never have to think about.

Share on Facebook

Brendan (left) and Patrick Burke

Hockey, 2010. When Brendan Burke, student manager of the Miami (Ohio) hockey team, came out of the closet on ESPN.com in late 2009, the story was touching and heartwarming. The support of his father, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, was a newsworthy piece of the story and drove a lot of worthy attention. We here at Outsports paid some attention to it but, with all the college coming-out stories we’ve told and followed days later by the death of Mike Penner, the story came and went.

All of that changed Feb. 5, 2010. It’s one of those moments I’ll never forget where I was, in Aspen about to sit down for dinner when the news came through: Brendan Burke had been killed in a car crash.

Suddenly the story of another kid with high hopes and a winning smile became a story of unrealized potential. When he came out of the closet just 10 weeks earlier, Burke had hoped to tackle homophobia in the sports world. And he had a shot. While his father had lots of other commitments and was a busy man, the platform Brendan had access to was one that few gay activists (Andrew Tagliabue comes to mind) have ever sniffed. With his death, all of that potential good seemed dashed. While this wasn’t the result of homophobia, it was a story that touched people in the gay community and the sports world similarly to that of Matthew Shephard so many years before.

But like a phoenix, Burke’s family became focused on building Brendan’s legacy and took on the mantle of the work he had planned to do to undermine homophobia in sports. Just weeks after his death the USA hockey team wore Brendan Burke dogtags during the Olympics; USA hockey soon after created a Brendan Burke Internship. Brian Burke announced that he would take a more active role in defeating sports homophobia; Brian has since worked with school organizations and marched in the Toronto Pride Parade. Thanks to Brian’s work, gay pro hockey players know they have at least one NHL team where they can be openly gay. Brendan’s sister Molly, a student at Bowdoin College in Maine, is working at her school to bring more attention to the issue of gays in sports and earlier this year brought her father to speak to the school.

But it’s the rise of Patrick Burke and his role in the fight against sports homophobia that will largely carry on the lasting legacy of the untimely passing of his brother Brendan. Patrick is a scout with the Philadelphia Flyers. Soon after Brendan’s death Patrick told me, “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m going to do something.” Since then he has worked quietly to turn the attention of the hockey world toward ending homophobia. He’s worked with GForce to create a speakers forum called ‘The Invisible Athlete.’ And he’s working on more projects that will continue to change the course of sports homophobia in North America. The ranking of this moment so high on our list is based in large part on our faith in the work that Patrick will do over the next couple of years. Still, Patrick says he is simply trying to live up to his brother’s standards, as Brendan “would have been much better at this than me.”

Brendan’s passing away did leave a void in the gay-sports movement, but it’s a void his family is filling very well.

While this is a sad moment on our list, it’s a reminder that the things we do while in this world can live on beyond our years. That’s certainly the case with Brendan Burke.

For more information:

• Brendan Burke dies, son of Maple Leafs GM
• Patrick Burke remembers his brother, Brendan
• USA hockey’s Brendan Burke internship
• GForce’s ‘Invisible Athlete’ forum
• The Death of Brendan Burke has left a void
• Moment #81: Brendan Burke comes out

Share on Facebook

We have written a lot celebrating how it has gotten better for many gay teenage athletes, profiling several this year with their heartwarming stories of acceptance. But this story out of Northumberland County in Ontario, Canada, reminds us that for many gay teen athletes,  staying in the closet is seen as their only option.

The Northumerland News is starting a series on gay athletes in their area and they begin with “Ryan,” a high school hockey player who can’t reconcile his love of his sport with being gay. And the reasons are all too familiar.

The young teen from Northumberland County fears if he came out, not only would he be ridiculed and embarrassed, but he strongly believes his life would be at risk — either by his own hands, or his teammates.

“The guys on my team talk, I’ve heard them,” said Ryan. “They say stuff like, ‘you’re such a fag’ and ‘I hate faggots.’”

Ryan recounts one time after a game where a teammate shared his disgust for homosexuals.

“He said, ‘If I ever meet a faggot, I’ll (expletive) kill him,’” said Ryan.

That’s when Ryan made the decision never to come out with his sexual orientation. He believes his love of the game and his sexuality may never co-exist.

The paper discovered Ryan through a local gay support group and the story is a sad one. By the account, he does not fit any stereotype his teammates have of gay people, which makes it possible for him to stay closeted, but also makes him miserable to the point of considering suicide.

“Sometimes the pain is too great, but I know if I wasn’t here anymore that wouldn’t really help the situation either. I have to be stronger than that,” said Ryan.

Reading this made my heart ache for Ryan and wishing I could somehow help. It is good that he is in a support group and hope that he can find happiness as he gets older.

Hat tip to Puck Buddies.

Share on Facebook

Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history.

Hockey, 2009: Brendan Burke came from a hockey family. His dad, Brian, has been a longtime NHL general manager and his brother Patrick works as a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers. So it was no secret that Brendan would follow in their footsteps. But Brendan did have a secret that was revealed in an award-winning 2009 article on ESPN.com by John Buccigross:

On this night in 2007, you are petrified of your dad. Because you, Brendan Burke, at 19 years old, are about to tell your dad, Mr. Testosterone, that you are gay.

The story is a life-affirming tale of family love and acceptance in a rough sport. The reaction to the story was overwhelmingly positive, and started an important dialogue on gays in hockey. Tragically, Brendan Burke died a short while later in a car crash; that story will be featured later in this history series. If you have never read the original coming-out story, it’s well worth your while.

For more information:

• ESPN.com’s Brendan Burke coming out story
• Brendan Burke’s Wikipedia page

Share on Facebook

Patrick Burke (left) with brother Brendan.

GForce hockey and Patrick Burke held a panel discussion at the American Hockey Coaches Association convention last weekend. The discussion was attended by coaches at all levels of hockey.

A full press release on the convention and the group’s push to further discussions of gay athletes in hockey is after the jump.

Naples, FL – Philadelphia Flyers scout Patrick Burke and members of GForce Sports this afternoon told members of the American Hockey Coaches Association that coaches must take responsibility for positive attitudes toward gay athletes in their locker rooms.

“Coaches set the tone for a team, not just on the ice, court or field of play, but in the locker room and other parts of sports,” Burke said. “It is up to coaches to start the dialogue about gay players and then guarantee that safe locker rooms lead to better athletes.”

Burke, son of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, began speaking on behalf of gay athletes following the death of his younger brother, Brendan Burke, an openly gay member of Miami University’s hockey team last year. Miami coach Rico Blasi introduced Burke at the AHCA conference, telling the coaches that his team’s experience with a gay teammate enriched and changed all of their lives.

Openly gay former college hockey player David Farber and lacrosse star Andrew McIntosh told the coaches that their coming out to teammates resulted in nothing but support and improved play.

Coaches questioned the players about how coming out changed the dynamics of their teams and how best to address parents’ questions about gay athletes. McIntosh’s mother and grandmother were in the audience.

“GForce and Patrick are working toward a day when players have moved from being known as ‘gay athletes’ to ‘athletes who happen to be gay’,” said Glenn Witman, GForce president.

GForce Sports is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting equality in sports regardless of sexual orientation. In addition to friendly competition between gay and straight teams, GForce provides speakers from a number of sports through its “Invisible Athlete” forums and one-on-one mentoring of athletes working through issues of sexuality with its Athlete Buddy System. For more information, visit www.GForceSports.org.

Share on Facebook