Study: Being a distraction is one reason why no NHL players have admitted they are gay

[dechire]

I never said that it did happen, but that there may well have been a fear that it would happen. The link I provided above was from 2013, in direct response to certain groups of media and other prominent people who largely operate outside of sports jumping into the NFL with an axe to grind.

Do you really think that junior hockey teams expected a national media frenzy over a 15 year old straight kid with two moms no one even knew or cared about or do you think that maybe it's more likely that they just had shitty prejudiced opinions about children raised by same-sex parents ?

And, for the record, discrimination because they're "afraid of media attention" is not actually any better than discrimination because of straight-up homophobia. It's all the same shitty thing.

 

[tucker3434]

I can understand that. It’s kind of a circus right now when a pro athlete comes out of the closet. I can see why you wouldn’t want to invite that into your locker room if you didn’t have to. Hopefully it won’t be that way someday but it is day.

I *think* acceptance of fellow players is becoming less and less of an issue, but I don’t really have much to base that on.

 

[Brunomics]

The problem is today's media is a toxic cesspool.

Any player that came out would be instantly shoved into the spotlight, poked and prodded relentlessly just to get a stupid soundbite, resulting in not only a distraction to the player, but the entire team.

[MOD]

This is the best answer in the thread I feel. The pro's just like everyone else want their privacy. They come out of the closet the media will be on them like a pack of wild dogs.

Media is downright toxic this day and age. But hey, anything for clicks.

 

[KevFu]

The problem is today's media is a toxic cesspool.

Any player that came out would be instantly shoved into the spotlight, poked and prodded relentlessly just to get a stupid soundbite, resulting in not only a distraction to the player, but the entire team.

[MOD]

Remember the story on team chemistry in an all-straight NHL locker room? Which one of the thousands?
Remember the story on team chemistry for the only NHL team with an out of the closet gay player? Oh yeah!

The reason the media would go nuts over that story is because of the ego factor in journalism. Unique stories help your career. The media is going to turn any little thing into a circus, because if they generate controversy, they get clicks on their stories -- and they get to go on radio/TV and talk about their column for a week (for which they frequently get paid to appear).

Look at ESPN's around the horn. The journalists who appear on that show all have that "muck raking" reputation, where the fans of the team they cover are like "ugh, I hate that guy."


I'm a Mets fan and the media coverage of the team is straight up ridiculous. We had a week long media controversy about how "There's a Latino / White player schism in the clubhouse" and the basis for it was a quote/rant by a white player... Only the media TRIMMED his rant. He was calling out the REPORTERS for only talking to the white guys. They turned it from "LoDuca upset at the reporters for not talking to his Latino teammates" into "LoDuca upset with his Latino teammates for not talking to the media."

In this day and age, the players themselves don't really give a damn. The Mets had a player who wasn't openly/publicly gay. But EVERYONE in the room knew he was, and no one gave a damn. He was a great teammate who's private life was none of their business. And he played in the 60s-70s-80s, and was a team ambassador until he died.

 

[topshelf15]

There is likely more than a few gay players in the NHL ,and more than likely there are teammates that know this...Being gay isnt something new ,or something that should be shunned..Its just accepted,as it should be...Sometimes its a personal choice,and likely this is what is happening here,as far as more players coming out about it

 

[He Is Knocking]

I'd probably quit watching the NHL if it became a headline news distraction. Just the rainbows on stick tape at the NHL network earlier this year turned me off. I have a biblical understanding of the sexes and believe we were made male and female by our creator. Whether I agree or not, what someone does privately is their business but when they start promoting it to children and grandchildren the way they're pushing this lifestyle in the public school systems then I have big problems with it.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I'd probably quit watching the NHL if it became a headline news distraction. Just the rainbows on stick tape at the NHL network earlier this year turned me off. I have a biblical understanding of the sexes and believe we were made male and female by our creator. Whether I agree or not, what someone does privately is their business but when they start promoting it to children and grandchildren the way they're pushing this lifestyle in the public school systems then I have big problems with it.

Plenty of NHL players openly promote Christianity. Jaccob Slavin and Cam Ward are two that jump to mind. They’re both great guys, and I’m not aware of any controversy around their using hockey as a platform for promoting their beliefs to children.

If they can do that without anyone having “big problems with it”, then the same should apply to everyone else in the room. Especially those who aren’t even pushing a belief or lifestyle, but simply stating their personal identity.

 

[LadyStanley]

There are a few Jewish players too. (Last one I knew was Mike Brown who played for the Sharks a few seasons ago.)

Not all players are open about their spiritual beliefs.

 

[sabremike]

There are a few Jewish players too. (Last one I knew was Mike Brown who played for the Sharks a few seasons ago.)

Not all players are open about their spiritual beliefs.

Nate Thompson (who converted because his wife is Jewish). Also IIRC Josh Ho-sang is Jewish as well.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Thread was bumped. Now locked.