The Toronto
Raptors, owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
(owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto’s new pro
soccer team Toronto FC) will support the gay community when
they host Rainbow Hoops Night on Friday, February 23, 2007.
The event is named for Rainbow Hoops, a lesbian-positive
women’s recreational basketball league that is using the
event as a fundraiser, a way to encourage team spirit, and a
way to develop an interest in basketball among the gay
community in Toronto.
"The Toronto Raptors are pleased to welcome friends and
supporters of the Rainbow Hoops women's basketball league to
our February 23 game against the Indiana Pacers," said Tom
Anselmi, executive vice president and chief operating
officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. And while not
the first NBA team to publicly welcome a gay group (the
Philadelphia 76ers hosted a Gay Community Night in 2004),
the Raptors say they are happy to help Rainbow Hoops achieve
their goal of purchasing a new portable electronic
scoreboard.
“I am thrilled that the Raptors are supporting our
community,” says Nel Gomes, a member of the Rainbow Hoops
league, which plays its games at a Toronto community centre.
“We don’t have a WNBA team in Toronto, and often women’s
sports are not given the same amount of media exposure that
men’s professional teams are. It’s a real treat to see the
Raptors showcasing the importance of basketball among women,
as well.”
“I’m excited to be working with the Raptors on gay day,”
said Heather Mackenzie, co-owner of popular neighbourhood
restaurant Big Mamma’s Boy and sponsor of the women’s
basketball league. “I love them even more. Also, I respect
them for allowing us this opportunity to be a part of the
Raptors for a day. Gay days bring out new people to showcase
the sport. I know after the Blue Jays Pride game, a couple
of women thanked me and said they had no idea baseball was
so exciting. So it is good for our community as well as the
team.”
Toronto’s pro sports teams support community
In a country where gay marriage is legal, the news that the
Toronto Raptors will be hosting a gay community group is not
all that surprising. Toronto’s pro sports teams have put on
a gay-friendly face in recent years, shocking a few people
and pleasing many.
In 2004, the Toronto Blue Jays were the first pro sports
team in Canada to host a Pride Night game. The Jays have
hosted Pride Night for three straight years, donating over
$3,000 in that period to the Toronto Pride Committee and
Team Toronto (an umbrella group for local gay sports
leagues).
Toronto’s most venerable and beloved team, the Maple Leafs,
made headlines in 2006 when it was revealed that they had
authorized use of the official team name, jersey and logo
for a movie about a gay former hockey player. Even the
film’s star, Canadian actor Tom Cavanaugh (TV’s Ed and Love
Monkey), was thrown for a loop. He told the Toronto Star, “I
never in a million years thought when we finally went to
shooting we’d be donning Leaf sweaters. I thought it’d be
that thing where it’s the Toronto Razorbacks or whatever.”
Of course, not everyone was happy. Hockey commentator Don
Cherry told the Star, “I know (NHL commissioner) Gary
Bettman wanted a kinder, gentler league, but this is too
much.”
According to the New York Times, the NHL and Toronto Maple
Leafs are “the first major pro league and team known to lend
its logos to a movie with a homosexual theme.” In an article
titled “Hard-Nosed League Delivers A Clear Message of
Acceptance,” they quote Dave Kopay, the gay former NFL
running back on the NHL’s decision: “Unbelievable. I guess
progressive is the new buzzword, but I'd say this is a
breakthrough against the stigma that still exists in
sports.”
Although the film, Breakfast with Scot (based on the 1999
novel by Michael Downing about a gay couple who unexpectedly
become parents to a flamboyant 11 year old boy named Scot),
won’t be released until late 2007, anti-gay activists have
already begun their attack on the NHL. But the league will
not be swayed. “Certain individuals are missing the point,”
said NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur to the New York
Times. “From our standpoint, this is about a modern family
helping to raise a young boy. There was no intention for
this to be a political statement, but having said that,
we're not going to back down.”
Gay days for the straight guy?
Although this is the first gay day for the Raptors, gay and
lesbian sports fans in Toronto have been supporting Toronto
Blue Jays Pride Night for the past three years. While gay
days are clearly important to the LGBT community, some, like
Ken Bleyer, an American now living in Canada, suggest that
“it’s the straight community that needs them.”
Pat Barry, a participant in the gay sports leagues in
Toronto, concurs. “Straight people are sitting next to us in
the stadiums, arenas and sports bars every day and don’t
even realize it. Gay days let them know we are here.”
