Leagues prepare for ‘I’m gay’
NHL takes lead while NFL works with advocacy group
NEW YORK — With growing expectations in recent weeks that a gay male athlete in one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States will soon come out publicly for the first time, the leagues have begun exploring ways to accommodate and respond to such a landmark announcement.
The National Hockey League and its players announced Thursday what appears to be the most comprehensive measure by a major men’s league in support of gay athletes.
The National Football League is working with gay advocacy groups to smooth the way for acceptance and to discuss how to prepare for the moment when one of its players publicly discusses his homosexuality
he NFL player Brendon Ayanbadejo, who has become something of an unofficial spokesman for the acceptance of gay players, has suggested repeatedly that there are a number of closeted active players in several sports who might eventually come out.
“The thing is, we’re in contact with several players,” Ayanbadejo, who was recently released by the Baltimore Ravens and is unsure if his playing career is over, said in an interview this week. “I’m not going to name numbers. Several gay players in more sports than just football, and what we’re trying to facilitate is to get them together and do what they want to do, do what is right for them.”
The NHL said it had formed a partnership with the You Can Play Project — an advocacy group pledged to fighting homophobia in sports — to plan training and counselling on gay issues for its teams and players.
Other major leagues — the NFL, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball — have policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and various officials have spoken in support of gay athletes.
Patrick Burke, a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers and a founder of You Can Play, which was formed in March 2012, said the demograph- ics of the NHL, with so many players from Canada and Northern Europe, were part of the reason the league had taken such a step.
“We have players from around the world, and a lot of those players are from countries that are seen as more progressive on LGBT issues,” Burke said.
“So I don’t think it’s unreasonable or strange to think that the NHL and the NHLPA are driving this, in part because our players tend to be more comfortable with this issue.”
Burke added that laying the groundwork for an openly gay player was not an official part of the program.
“But we’re ready to do whatever that player wants,” he said. “If he wants to do a thousand interviews and march in pride parades, we’re equipped to handle that. And if he wants us to pass block for him so he never has to do another interview in his life, we’re equipped to handle that, too.”
You Can Play will help run seminars for NHL rookies to educate them on gay issues and make resources and personnel available to each team, as desired.
The league and the players’ union will also work with You Can Play to integrate the project into their behavioural health program, enabling players to seek counselling regarding matters of sexual orientation confidentially.
Burke said the joint venture would also step forward when players make homophobic remarks.
In the NFL, the league’s security department would be assigned to monitor public reaction, looking for potential threats from fans in the event a player comes out.
Troy Vincent, a former player who is now the league’s executive charged with player engagement, and Anna Isaacson, the league’s community relations director, have been designated to cull ideas from gay advocacy groups and to build relationships with the groups that the NFL might then use to help them address players.
During a recent meeting with league officials and three organizations — Athlete Ally, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and You Can Play — Wade Davis, a former NFL player who has come out and is now on You Can Play’s advisory board, suggested closed-door meetings with players at which they could freely ask questions about having a gay teammate.
Davis acknowledged that because many NFL players are deeply religious, open conversations about how their religious beliefs impact their feelings about gay players are necessary.
“The players are the ones who are going to have to interact with this first out gay athlete,” Davis said.
“Instead of pushing anything on them, let’s have an honest conversation. Even if somebody has a different opinion, their opinion is valid. One great thing about sports culture is the locker room is a PCfree zone. So players will say anything with the understanding they are family. That’s where you have to start from.”