Quote:
Originally Posted by Northendzone
i would be curious how much the word "gay" is mentioned as a negative slang on the ice these days at all levels of hockey
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I’ve continued playing adult hockey into my mid thirties now. And it feels very rare to encounter homophobic language or sentiment of any kind. Mind you, one of my leagues is Winsport, which now houses two LGBTQ teams and has strict policy regarding any form on intolerance. But in the other leagues I also play, it’s gone from prevalent two decades ago, to almost non existent.
However, I got into coaching about 5 years ago, and was quite surprised the amount of times I encountered outbursts with it among the youth. These were teenager levels. But even among my team we had a number of incidents we had to deal with.
So that’s why I believe announcements like these are so important, as it will showcase the Hitmen and the WHL as supportive institutions (even as some individuals will surely have to adjust their behaviours behind closed doors) and that will bleed into the larger hockey youth community, who are always watching and absorbing.
You have to wonder if before Luke can make the show an active NHLer finally decides the time is right and comes out. It just makes the road that much easier for someone like Luke, without the pressure of being the first added to the stress and difficulty of making the NHL.
