NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told the Chicago Tribune that he hopes a gay player will come out in their league. Bettman noted that the player to come out would not have to do it alone, and that the league would have an accepting environment.
And while it appears that the commissioner wants the move for his and the league’s own good, Bettman told the Tribune:
“I think it’s very difficult to generalize as to why in a particular league or a particular industry somebody has or has not come out,” Bettman said in a phone interview Tuesday. “We certainly don’t want a player to come out for our sake. It should be what’s right for him and something that he has to be comfortable with. But I think it’s our job to create a culture and an environment where a gay player knows he is safe and welcome. If and when that happens, believe me, that person will have the full support of the commissioner’s office.”
The league had suspended former Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw back in April for using a homophobic slur towards a referee. In suspending Shaw, Bettman told the Tribune he was hoping to send a message to the rest of the league, creating a more accepting environment.
Former Major League Baseball player Glenn Burke, who is now openly gay, has said that he has heard from some current players who are gay.
Burke told the Tribune why he believes players don’t come out:
“I do think there’s some validity to the idea that hockey is a sport where anything that distracts from the team concept is seen as a negative and that there may be an incorrect perception that a player coming out would be stepping out of the team-first narrative,” Burke said.
But even then, Burke countered, a player coming out could actually be beneficial to a team.
“An athlete who’s wasting time and energy and mental health and well-being hiding himself in the closet isn’t bringing his entire individual self to the team,” Burke said. “The idea this would somehow distract from or be a negative from a team concept is fundamentally at odds with the truth of the situation.”
The conversation could help the confidence of a gay player coming out, but it’s still tough no matter how easy the commissioner tries to make it sound, or to talk it into existence.
With time, it will certainly come. We’ve seen over the course of the years the improvement in other leagues. The voice of the commissioner helps, but the battle for those that are fighting it is much tougher than he makes it seem.
