This is an open message to all the hockey fans out there who are guilty of saying things like “soccer is gay,” or “baseball is for faggots,” etc. I hope you read this and learn something.

Homophobia is a real problem in society, and the world of athletics is no exception. As a gay man, and a hockey player, I am constantly confronted by homophobia in the dressing room and on the ice. The gay jokes, calling opposing players “faggot,” it all happens on a daily basis, and it hurts. As someone who has not come out to my teammates and colleagues within my coaching staff, hearing those kinds of comments and jokes makes me even more hesitant to come out. Each homophobic comment, whether said out of actual homophobia, force of habit, or peer pressure, pushes me further from the point where I would feel comfortable coming out to my team.

Hockey, for me, is a way I can escape the stresses of daily life, and be at peace on the ice. A time when I can get away from politicians, companies, and homophobic people trying to deny me rights. Living in an ultra-conservative, borderline evangelical religious house, hockey is a place where I could be around people I like and share a common passion with. And to be honest, most of the time, hockey does that for me. But then the homophobic jokes and comments are made, and they build upon each other into a whirlwind of ignorance.

I thought that after the amazing response and work of YouCanPlay, things would start to get better. Unfortunately, I have not noticed much difference yet. I do realize that less than a full season of YouCanPlay involved in combating homophobia in sports wouldn’t spark a fundamental change in the hockey culture right away. There are significant signs that the hockey community is changing for the better thanks to the work of YouCanPlay and other amazing organizations. I still have hope that the future will be so much better for LGBT athletes, and I cannot wait for that day to come.

So let’s help YouCanPlay speed up the process by changing the way we show our support and love for the greatest sport in the world. When we communicate our dislike for other sports, eliminate the gay joke. It’s that simple. To quote Patrick Burke, “just call the guy an asshole and be done with it.”

Not only does the hockey community need to stop using the “soccer is gay” line, we, as a collective, need to stop kidding ourselves.

I often get DMs from hockey players who seem so upset that a homosexual is a fan of the sport, often going to the extent of saying, “there are no gay hockey players.” Really? No gay hockey players? Tell that to me, Scott Heggart , the writing staff at PuckBuddys.com, and countless other gay hockey players. Oh, and don’t forget the late Brendan Burke. His courage and conviction is helping to change the way LGBT athletes are treated, even after his tragic passing. Do not let his message fizzle out because of your own insecurities.

Which leads me to the question: Why are hockey players so quick to deny the fact that some homosexuals do, and can play hockey? I would be shocked to find a profession completely devoid of LGBT persons.

Luckily, major National Hockey League players have joined YouCanPlay in an effort to end homophobia. If these guys, who have made it to the highest of leagues, can put aside sexual orientation, focus on skill, and help end homophobia in hockey, why can’t you? Just in case you are unaware of exactly who in the NHL already supports YouCanPlay, here’s some of the nearly 50 players whove signed on:

James Van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, George Parros, Brandon Prust, David Steckel, RJ Umberger, Brian Boyle, Rick Nash, Henrik Lunqvist, Zdeno Chara, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Kesler, Brian Elliott, Shea Weber, Carey Price, Jason Pominville, Tommy Wingles, Steven Stamkos, Brian Campbell

There are also increasing numbers of minor leauge, junior and college hockey teams jumping on board with YouCanPlay to spread the mission of YouCanPlay to more within the hockey community. Coaches, GMs, players, scouts, and fans are embracing the YouCanPlay message, and I can honestly say that each and every one of them has a special place in my heart because of their impact on my life. Their support for LGBT athletes in hockey is nothing short of fantastic.

And just in case there are some close-minded hockey fans and players out there who still think LGBT athletes couldn’t possibly posses enough skill to compete with their heterosexual counterparts, here is a little snapshot of my stats from when I played in a highly competitive midget/high school league. GAA: 2.11, SV%: .925, record 65-13-2, SO: 6. Over a four-year span I set team records in GAA and SV%, as well as tied the shutout record. I was also the second-most winningest goaltender in team history. I was invited to the Hockey Night In Boston Tournament three consecutive years, a two-time Mid-American All Star, named to numerous all-star teams, and became a lead instructor at numerous goaltending schools. I also have a successful coaching business.

To be honest, however, there is a part of me that thinks the hockey community may never fully accept LGBT athletes. I constantly imagine that when the NHL finally has an out LGBT athlete on a roster, fans will use his sexuality as the principal point of ridicule. Look at how people already talk about superstar players like Sidney Crosby and the Sedin brothers. They call Crosby a “fag,” or a “prissy b*tch.” They call the Sedins the “Sedin Sisters.”

Homophobic and sexist remarks towards great players are tossed around constantly. These are Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Calder Trophy, Stanley Cup, Presidents Trophy winners, first liners. Just think about that for a minute; what if the first open LGBT athlete was a fourth-liner, but without the BizNasty2.0 factor? Fans could tear him apart, and use his sexuality as a target. I may be cynical about all this, I may be overreacting to a situation yet to develop. In my defense, however, my experience has taught me that when an LGBT person comes out within a masculine environment, they aren’t always met with open arms and tolerance.

I hope you learned something from this post. I hope you will take a look at your actions and your attitudes, and re-evaluate how you approach LGBT athletes, and how you interact with people within the hockey community. Remember, LGBT persons don’t wear name-tags, or have any distinguishable physical characteristics, so you never know if the person you’re talking to will be hurt by your words.

End homophobia in hockey now. Do your part.  All My Love, GPP <3

Every fanbase has assholes. I just don’t want to be the asshole of our fanbase.

I will never, under any circumstances, root for the Rangers or Penguins. Sorry, thems the breaks. This self reflection began by reading a post from the great Michele Catalano of American McCarver on how some fans, “Dont know where they end and their team begins.” That led to some soul searching that continued for a few days.

Typical Isles Depression

But upon careful consideration, I will no longer become annoyed, bitchy, and snarky if the despised teams win. I have friends that support teams I’d like to see sink into the ocean.  I don’t associate with the bandwagon jerkoffs that I actually despise. I can’t, my overpowering urge to throttle the “who the hell is Mike Bossy” people would get me in the pokey. But these fans I consider friends are just as passionate and knowledgeable about their team as I am of mine. They deserve happiness. Who am I to ballyhoo them in their moment of triumph?

Go, win. I don’t care. It’s fine. My friends deserve to be happy, and I’m sure there are a few decent other people in each fanbase (though, understandably less than most in Broadway Blue). I’ve made friends in every enemy camp. 2 friends from Boston, 2 from Philly(!ick!), 3 NJDers, 2 Pens fans, A Leafs fan, a plethora of Canes fans, and on and on. All teams I revile to varying degrees.

Oddly, I have no Sens fan friends. Could be because of what I said about them here.

Oh, they were pissed. I angered the hockey hipsters, they may get a Tim Horton’s cappuccino on my jersey.

These blossoming e-friendships are in addition to the number of friends who I stay in touch with primarily through hockey, like Tonawanda Tom, who honestly deserves to see his Sabres win a Cup and my police officer pal in NC who is a diehard Rags fan. All likeable people. What does hating their team get me? Other than pissed off and envious of their success? My team sucks. I’ve accepted that. As such, I’ll be jealous whenever someone wins the Cup.

This game has given me so very much. So many wonderful and lasting friendships, a passion that’ll be with me until I die, bumps, bruises, memories seared into my brain that though few and far between for a team as woe begotten as mine are still there. My team’s season ended in April. Time to accept that and look forward to next season and focus on playing the game, rather than wasting my time with infantile statements about how a team and it’s fanbase are trash.

I still don’t like a few teams, but why am I going to waste my time being angry? It’s futility of the highest order. As someone close to me told me last night, “Hockey is a great uniter.” I thought about that statement on the drive home, reflecting on it last night, and decided I no longer need the dark side of the force, so to speak.

International Symbol for Futility

I’d been stewing on this for a while, since a roadtrip through the Midwest with my buddies.

Sitting in Wrigley, where the aged ushers literally had no idea the last time they won it all, and the kids were being indoctrinated by their parents into supporting the Northsiders for future generations of futility… I can deal with another lean decade or two from my hockey and football teams.

Mathew Dumba: The Next Mr. Islander?

If they can keep their head up and keep their faith in such a sea of staggering failure, I can do the same until Charles Wang flies into the sun. But since that was entirely too fluffy: Charles Wang still should die in prison, Matt Cooke is a douche and Raffi Torres should die of asscrabs. That sounds a lot more like me.

And now, my mocky mockdraft!

1. Nail Yakupov – EDM will take him or trade. Very simple. He’s the Consensus Run Away topdog.
2. Filip Forsberg – Howson goes slightly off the board. Wants a crease crasher.
3. Mikhail Grigogenko – Montreal. Roy’s prodigal son. It’s done. It’s faite compli.
4. (The only pick we really care about) Ryan Murray – Snow takes a Dman. If Murray is gone, he grabs Dumba.
5. Alex Galchenyuk – Burke gets a playmaker to support Kessel.
6. Teuvo Teravainen – Teemu coaches up the young Fin.
7. Matthew Dumba (If he’s gone Cody Ceci)– Minnesota goes for a BIG Dman.
8.  Radek Faksa – My Canes correspondents insist
9. Morgan Reilly – Winnipoop gets the injured but dynamic Dman.
10.  Malcolm Subban – Tampa finally addresses the net question.

I will see you next time, or I will see you another time.

While taxiing, we constantly refreshed the twitters, desperate to hear the results of the deciding round 1 Caps-Rangers game. We won and it was wheels up. The Tampa Bay Bolts were next and we’d be back home in time to enjoy most of the second round. As half-smokes and Leinenkugels gave way to charcuterie and cappucinos, we let go of the Capitals for a moment, hopeful for their future. April in Paris and nod-nod, wink-wink in Amsterdam awaited us.

We got home, the Caps were faltering, bin Laden was iced and then it was all over. Sudden. Swept. That outcome was very bad, obviously different from this year’s 2nd round, but this one stings more. We were so damn close. So close. But there’s little time for sadness.

It seems we had more ups and downs this season that those previous; in part because there were, and also because we just felt them more this year. We were sad to see the departure of Papa “Sasha Whisperer” Arnott, but genuinely thrilled to have Jeff “the Hebrew Hammer” Halpern back. It was only in September we excitedly got (among others) Roman Hamrlik and Mattias Sjorgren’s signatures at CapsCon….the two taking very different paths over the season. 

Bruce Boudreau’s ”really big cup holders” and pinata gave way to John Carlson’s muddy feet and Brooksie’s ootsourcing; Mike Knuble was sent in and out of jail while Karl Alzner kept adding dogs and telling the truth. Rarely a week went by without goalie drama and just getting into the playoffs seemed questionable just over a month ago. Being emotionally attached to this team has its risks.

We had some ups and downs as well…mostly ups. We added dozens of new writers (now friends) from across the country and hosted the first-ever Gays Night Out at Verizon. The tom-fools over at RMNB asked us to stop by for a little bit, and we ended up just crashing in their basement. We the precocious Sidneys to their august Marios.

We saw the creation of the “You Can Play” project, and met Zach, a high school hockey player on his journey of coming out. We drank beers, and more beers, at various gatherings and were constantly thrilled to meet old and new readers (and even more thrilled you didn’t throw your beers on us or call security.)

Everything comes out in the wash

This season didn’t end as we had hope, but it gave us much more than we ever expected. For that, all hockey hugs go to the entire Caps organization and its extended clan. But it’s Spring, and it’s time to plant and look forward again to the fall. Time for Dale Hunter to spit out that overworked wad of chewing gum and give his jaw a rest. The furies shall rest a bit and dream about October. And we can finally wash our jerseys.

It’s impossible to know where the journey takes us next and who will come along. And yet we’re already looking forward to the adventure. Where’s our big trip to this year? Pittsburgh for the draft, of course.

We recall the off-season flying by last summer: the NHL Awards, the draft, dev camp, the rookie arrivals, training camp, and then fanboy camp – the Alumni game and Capscon. Our hockey friends became more like hockey family at each of those stops. Spring will give way to summer and then fall; before you know it, even crisper weather – winter is coming. Again.

And so here we are.

Just a handful of hours from when I write this, the Washington Capitals (yay!) will meet the New York Rangers (booooo!) in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. And isn’t that interesting?

After all, the Caps were, about nine or 10 months ago, widely considered to be the favorite in the Eastern Conference by a pretty considerable margin. They had everything going for them. The team roared out of the gate all right and once again reaffirmed what more or less everyone thought: This was one of the best teams in the East, if not the entire league.

And then the rest of the season happened. It’s hard to pinpoint what, exactly, took place to make the Capitals drop from white-hot to mediocre so quickly, in defiance of expectations. Someone could, and maybe one day even will, write a nice book about it.

Things got so bad they had to fire their Jack Adams-winning coach just to kickstart the team, but bringing in a bully like Dale Hunter didn’t make matters appreciable better. Where Bruce Boudreau’s Caps put together a winning percentage of just .568 (not good enough for a team with these expectations headed in), Hunter’s was actually worse at just .558. And though they snuck into the playoffs, most people had duly adjusted their expectations for this team.

Against the Boston Bruins? The reigning Stanley Cup Champions? Of the WORLD? And with a rookie goalie who barely played in the regular season? The Caps were dead. Deader than that, if it were possible. If they pushed the series to five games they’d be lucky, and would likely do so largely on the largesse of the bemused veteran warriors in Black and Gold. This ignored that the Bruins took a mere three points in four games from the Caps this season. And though Boston won that first game, it was a hard-fought victory. Six games later, they’d lost more than they won, scoring just 15 goals in seven contests, and the Caps were on to the next round.

But beating a team that had played something like 190 games in the last two seasons seemed a little unfair, and made a convenient excuse for the Bruins apologists out there. Certainly, a date with the New York Rangers would straighten out these upstarts, who were playing the boringest hockey imaginable.

This, also, ignored recent Capitals history. Their record against the Rangers in the regular season was 2-2 but the team regularly pumped dreamy, invincible media darling Henrik Lundqvist, scoring nine goals in three games. Only the Maple Leafs — really?! — had a better goals-per-game average against the probable future Vezina winner (poor Jon Quick). And hey, while we’re forgetting clear, demonstrable facts, let’s also ignore that the Caps picked apart the Rangers last season in the opening round, winning in five games and probably making Lundqvist cry rivers of tears from his glacier-blue eyes I MEAN WAIT…

Which brings us to today. It’s Game 7. The Caps have answered what have been framed as Rangers’ deathblows again and again: An ugly 3-1 opening-game loss was followed by a convincing 3-2 win that sent the series to Washington tied when it very easily couldn’t have been. Two overtime losses were both answered in kind with sure-thing wins that despite their close scorelines were never really in doubt.

And, by virtue of the New Jersey Devils of all teams having advanced to the Eastern Conference Final, and the Los Angeles vs. Phoenix series in the West set to go as well, the Capitals are as of right now, at the very least, one of the five best teams remaining in the NHL today. And look at that, it’s just like everyone thought in September.

Of course, that’s all going to change in eight or nine hours (with allowances for overtime), when the team is one of the four best teams in the league, and Henrik Lundqvist is given a whole summer to look great dress great jam with John McEnroe.

Rangers Suck. Go Caps.

Last July, we recruited an intern to help us cover Caps Development Camp. Camilla  filed for us and was on the masthead as an intern. For obvious reasons, we can have high school girls as interns here, but not guys. In any event, her talent was recognized by another DC blog and they spent vast sums wooing her away. She’s been filing frequently over at DC Sports Nexus, or whatever it’s called this week.

Barnett: “I Don’t dig Dugs.”

We’re lawyered up to the teeth and are spoiling for a fight. Say hello to our little friend, Bob Barnett, a K Street gunslinger and his bad ass crew over at Williams and Connolly. 

Their first win for us was securing the right to publish Camilla’s latest work, a paper on hockey injuries that she did for her George Mason High School health class.  The grade is still pending on her paper, but she remains A+ in our book.

Camilla covered her Mustangs hockey team this season and also manages her own site. We’re sorry that she has to be involved in this legal Tug Dug of War, but she’ll come out of this ordeal a far more seasoned writer (along with login information for her former employer’s site). Give her a follow on twitter; we promise you won’t be subpoenaed.

“This is a paper for my Health class project (last year!). The project could be on pretty much anything, from Anorexia to dreaming. It was a pretty vast selection to choose from but, being the hockey nut that I am, couldn’t help but pick “hockey injuries.”

Why hockey injuries as opposed to the origins of hockey or how the game is played? Because, actually knowing what a player might’ve injured when checked into the boards is pretty interesting and, in my opinion, gives you a greater respect for the players playing the game. And it sounded a heck of a lot more interesting than talking about Childhood Obesity. If you’ve ever watched hockey, you’ve seen it’s a very physical game. From the back checks to the brawls, the players out there are getting a lot of wear and tear. This paper talks about the common injuries received and how.

Players wear protective gear as to limit the amount of harmful injuries they receive. Dating back to hockey’s origins, players have used cushions/pads to protect their legs, especially their legs. Later, players added chest protectors and gloves. The most recent addition has been the helmet, which was made mandatory in ’79. While it became mandatory in ’79, only players new that year and forward had to wear it. The helmet was optional for older players who had already been in the league.

Hockey injuries are generally put into two ambiguous categories; upper body and lower body injures. Common upper body injuries include concussions, separation of AC joint, labrum tears, bitten fingers, hair pulling, broken bones from checks and fights, as well as cuts from fights, high sticks, flying pucks, etc. Common lower body injuries include groin strain, MCL/ACL sprain or tear, and ankle injuries from blocking shots.

Concussions are the most common injuries in the NHL. They are a result of illegal checks, clean hits, fights, the occasional high stick, and loose puck.  Of the concussion in the NHL, 17% have come from illegal hits (such as head shots), 8% from fights while the remaining 70% was divided between accidental collisions, which was 26% while 44% come from just playing the game. The other 5% is undetermined.

The shoulder is made up of three different bones; the scapula (shoulder-blade), the humerus (upper arm bone), and the clavicle (collarbone). The part of the scapula that makes up the top of the shoulder is called the acromion. The AC joint is where the acromion and the clavicle meet. The clavicle bone and acromion are held together by ligaments. AC joint separation happens when the ligaments holding the clavicle bone and acromion are strained or torn in more extreme circumstances. In hockey, this injury is often caused by a hard check into the boards shoulder first, an awkward fall on the shoulder, or fighting.

A labral hip tear is commonly caused by physical trauma such as a body check, or falling or hitting the boards while skating at a high-speed. When the player is hit, the labrum, a ring of soft tissue that holds the femur in place, becomes damaged, creating pain in the hip. While this injury is most common in the hip playig hockey, it can also happen to the labral in the shoulder which is also the same basic ball and soket joint for our shoulder.

The MCL and ACL are both outer ligaments in the knee which connect the bones in our legs. MCL and ACL tears are usually the result of quick pivots and a hit to a knee that is straight. While both occur, MCL tears are more likely to occur due to the MCL being o the outer part of the knee.

Injuries sustained from fights are often minor and include; black eyes, cuts, broken noses, bloody ears, broken fingers/hands, bite marks, pulled hair, losing teeth, concussions (although a little more rare), and the occasional broken rib as well as other bones.

Injuries when playing hockey do occur, but that doesn’t mean fighting should be banned and it’s a brutish sport. It just means players, and the NHL itself, need to take action against cheap shots and keep the game a little more clean. It’ll reduce the amount of serious injury, and hopefully, make the game a little more fun and safe for everyone involved. By all means, though, drop the mittens if someone bashes your star player or gives you a nasty check.”
 
Bibliography:

• Knee Ligament Injuries: PCL, LCL, MCL, and ACL Injury 
• Acromioclavicular Joint Separation  
• The Truth About Concussions in the NHL 
• Shoulder Joint Tear (Glenoid Labrum Tear) 
• Dull Hip Pain While Playing Hockey

Whaaaa

Hi everyone, Ryan Lambert here. I’m writing guest posts for Puck Buddys until the Capitals are eliminated from the playoffs, which will be never. Get into it.

Very few people outside of the greater DC area likely expected that the Washington Capitals would be headed back to New York for Game 5 of this Eastern Conference semifinal with the series knotted at two games apiece, even if the lower seed did manage to win one of the games at Madison Square Garden early in the series.

But for some people, the reason for people to get upset isn’t that the No. 7 team in the East is beating the No. 1 team. It’s that the No. 7 team is beating the No. 1 team at its own game.

We were told throughout the season that the New York Rangers play an admirable style of hockey. Everyone buys in, everyone is tenacious and conscientious in the defensive zone , everyone sacrifices for the greater good. Would that the whole league played this way, then there would be the big things this game lacks today: Honesty, Accountability, Hard Work. (It would help, by the way, if we could get all non-Datsyuk Russians to go back to the KHL.)

But there is, it seems, a big difference between saying you want everyone to play this way and actually wanting it. Because you see, when the postseason rolled around, the Washington Capitals started playing the way the Rangers — and to a lesser extent, they themselves — did all season: namely, they block a billion shots and rely on third-line guys and minute-devouring D to grind out wins, instead of their star players.

It’s generally held that if you’re blocking a lot of shots, you’re conceding a lot of shot attempts, and that’s bad because it means you don’t have the puck. That’s why teams like the Islanders, Wild, and Candiens were first, second, and third in the league in blocked shots this season, respectively. But then the Rangers were fourth. San Jose was fifth. And Washington was sixth. (Though it’s important to concede that the Caps weren’t exactly world-beaters in the regular season, and probably would have had more blocks if not for Bruce Boudreau’s system in the first part of the year.)

And surprise! The Caps (244) and Rangers (232) led the postseason in blocked shots ahead of Game 5.

This is, to some Rangers fanboys in the media, not acceptable. Blocking shots AND winning games? An outrage if you’re not the Rangers. In fact, it slows the games to unacceptable, boring slogs that serve as a barrier to the casual fan and stiffen even the diehards against this implacable and interminable style of play. To wit:

Seven Washington forwards got more ice time than Leapin’ Alex Ovechkin (15:09) in the Caps’ Game 4, 3-2 victory on Saturday, bringing to mind the old joke about Dean Smith being the only coach able to stop Michael Jordan when they were together at UNC.

But that’s how the league has evolved in Year Seven of the post-lockout era in which the more gritty third-liners the better. The new-age rules were supposed to promote offense and open-ice but coaches have found the way to get ahead of that curve just as coaches always focus on obstructing rather than creating.

Ah, the sour-grapes criticism of a winning game plan: the last refuge of those afflicted with a terminal case of the boo-hoos. (And if you couldn’t tell that’s exactly what this is, note the use of “Leapin’” in front of Alex Ovechkin’s name.)

Brooks wasn’t writing these anti-shot-blocking screeds when the Rangers’ forwards and defense stopped some 30 percent of the shots their opponents attempted in the regular season — 1,338 blocks, 886 wide, 2,272 on goal (4,496 attempts total). Therefore, it’s reasonable for us to assume that he had no problem whatsoever with it.

And so that leads us to ask: Why does he have this problem now? And again, it’s because the Caps are doing it more effectively than the Rangers. What would Brooks have Dale Hunter do? Let Ovechkin run and gun like it was 2009 all over again, just because people don’t like the product? The product, for Caps fans, is winning, and it’s pretty great in that respect.

If anything, he should be flattered that his beloved Rangers have, ahem, “created” a style of play that is fabulously successful. Look at how far the Caps got by using it.

Credit: Caps Outsider

We’ve written before, perhaps a bit uncorked, about how much every other hockey call team on the teevee just plain stinks. Stinks, as in, if we could, “BOOOOOOO!!” I offer the jury exhibit A: Pierre McGuire. And exhibit B: Mike Milbury. And…oh, you get it. Boo.

Living here in DC, what with all the hustle and bustle and the gibbity and gabbity, it’s easy to forget just how good we got it. I mean, the Caps of late – just plain hellztotheyeah. The owner – and oh, believe me, there have been far worse owners and precious few you could call Wings Worthy – well, he gets it. [We're not just saying that to let everyone know that when the PuckBuddys go to a Caps playoff games we're 2-0, ahem Ted.]

And of course there’s that local economy based on those filthy feudal tidings from the hinterlands that just keeps us a-keepin’ on. (#thankyouCongresswhileIberateyou.)

Who dat handsome knucklehead?

We have much to be thankful for; about our town, and about our Caps. (See anything here.) Today, we wanted to raise a tribute to another treasure of living here: Craig Laughlin.

PuckBuddyCraig likes to say that it was Joe B and Locker (and Smokin’ Al and Alan May) that taught him everything he knows about hockey. PuckBuddyDoug would like to think it was him. Either way, we both over the years have been, and continue to be, huge fans. And I say that as a professional, urp, “award-winning” broadcaster.

The live on-air broadcast is an experience hard to describe…yet it’s still my favorite place. You may know you’re talking to 100, or 10,000, or 10,000,000 people at any moment, but what does that mean? You’re only actually in a tiny room, or a cramped arena booth, or just wandering about somewhere, hoping that every electrical signal from your mic and camera and IFB somehow flows them there electrons through the Gordian Knot of electrical cables to some something or other that, sending signals to something else somewhere not even here, miraculously makes with the sound and pictures.

That’s exactly how technical it all is.

Just what is happening here?

Take it from me: you really can’t understand it at the moment while you’re doing it. You really can’t talk, engage, and impart information quickly to any audience while all that is zooming through your mind. Live is live.

Broadcasters, especially local TV news market types, have the rep of being vapid, empty vessels – like William Hurt in “Broadcast News” – that just mouth what others tell them. OK sure, there are some of those. Probably half those in TV are there because someone told them they’re pretty. About 30% are there because they really work hard and believe in what they do. Add to that another, maybe 18% because, actually, they’re really stupidly smart and good at what they do.

And then there’s the 2%; those broadcasters like Craig Laughlin. Not a soul watching can’t help but feel he’s talking to them, imparting his folksy wisdom to a select audience of one. And ‘folksy’? Yeah, with his “do-si-do’s” and “mustard on that ticky-tack” and his dipsy-do, bang-bang, dandy fisticuff argot, he might seem like just another doughnut-muncher from Toronto, except he isn’t. Locker is uniquely gifted as a color commentator: he knows the game, he knows the artifice of the TVs, he knows what it is to have producers shouting in his ear “END! END! THROW NOW!” and such, and yet he never betrays any of that.

Locker!

It’s a great thing to be a gifted hockey player. I can only look on that with envy, never having been one.

It’s also a great thing to be a gifted broadcaster. Here again I feel better suited to looking on with envy.

Craig Laughlin went in this week for hip replacement surgery. He told us about it last year at Caps Con when PuckBuddyCraig mentioned that he had actually had complete hip replacement just the prior year.

There were no cameras on at that moment, but Craig Laughlin was every bit the Locker we see on air when he responded. Craig and Craig chatted for a minute, more, about the pain, the surgery, the risks and the real opportunities for amazing recovery. “I love you guys!” was his parting comment.

That’s our Locker

Craig Laughlin, we know you will have the speediest of recoveries. We know you will be better for having this procedure. We know you will be on your feet faster than you know and back in the rough and tumble in no time.

And we know we will continue to learn from you, while shouting at the TV, over many years to come.

Get well soon, Locker. You’ve got a lot of people depending on you.

#WinItForLocker.

Hotline editors, going back to the Chuck Todd days, started featuring Derby and Triple Crown picks from Washington big shots, then every now and again, lowlifes like myself. If we had a racing blog, we’d post this year’s plays for the Run for the Roses there, but we don’t. Not yet, at least. Saturday’s puck drop will find us at VC for the Caps throttling of the Rags. Saturday’s post time will find us back at HQ, watching, wagering and winning on “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports,” not including of course, Caps’ OT PKs.

“One of the best Hotline traditions continues. For nearly 20 years, The Hotline has been the exclusive home for legendary political journalist/horse handicapper Jack Germond’s Triple Crown picks. As with all great handicappers, he (and The Hotline) only remembers the years he was right. Also making their annual picks for us: GOP strategist / lobbyist / horse owner Jim Dornan, RealClearPolitics’s Carl Cannon, and Edelman’s media relations VP Craig Brownstein.”

Germond: “Anyone who saw the Arkansas Derby will want to bet the farm on Bodemeister, but to get a decent return you will have to use exacta boxes with such relative longshots as Alpha, Take Charge Indy, or Went the Day Well (with John Velasquez aboard). A year ago, the same strategy with Nehro being wheeled produced an exacta of $329. If Bodemeister doesn’t win, I will enter a monastery or write something nice about Newt Gingrich, whichever is less noxious.”

Dornan: “I’m starting to sound like a broken record when I say that ‘This is the most wide open Derby in years.’ But it is. Again. And I could make a case for 15 of the 20 horses entered in this year’s Run for the Roses, but I won’t, so here goes: I am worried about Union Rags‘ (9-2) ability to go the distance, but he’s showing good form right now and deserves a bet. Dullahan (8-1) came from the clouds in his last race and will be running at the end. Creative Cause (12-1) has been super competitive in California and could surprise. And while Went the Day Well (20-1) is lightly raced, Graham Motion probably has him ready and he picks up Johnny V to ride. He could be a live long shot. Box the four of them in an exacta box and say a prayer to the racing gods. Good luck!”

Cannon: “This seems the deepest crop of 3-year-olds in years, but one with no obvious star, unless it’s Bodemeister or perhaps Union Rags. But it’s the Kentucky Derby, so a mom-and-pop stable has entered a freakishly fast sprinter named Trinniberg. That horse has no shot, but he could really heat up the pace, thus compromising Bodemeister’s chances and Hansen’s — and any others running in the front tier in the early stages. If the race falls apart like that, it might set up the Derby for a fast-closing longshot, such as Dullahan, Daddy Nose Best, or, in a perfect world, Sabercat. Since I have a hefty future bet on that last colt, I’m going to play a modest 4-horse exacta and trifecta, boxing the same four horses: Sabercat, Bodemeister, Dullahan, and the most likely winner: Union Rags.”

Brownstein: ”You thought that DC was full of celebrities for the WHCD? A sizable clutch of bold face names will gather under the Twin Spires in Louisville for the 138th running of the Derby: Kate Upton, Ashton Kutcher, QBs Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers, skiers Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn, and for the gays – Cyndi Lauper. But no matter how hard Guy Fieri, Nick Lachey and Kid Rock vie for attention, the real stars will be twenty precocious three-year olds, and despite their talent, there isn’t an ego among them. This is a deep field and, as always, the most difficult race of the year to handicap. Never mind me picking Herman Cain to go all the way for the GOP, these Derby plays are bank, Swiss bank. For the win I like Hansen (10-1). He won on this strip in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and if the track comes up wet, all the better. For place, I’m going with Union Rags (9-2). He’s a winning machine and may go off as the betting favorite on Saturday. For show, Take Charge Indy (15-1). Expect a ground saving, rail-skimming trip by his jock, Calvin Borel (aka Bo-rail) in the irons. But what’s most important on race days, especially in the wake of this week’s House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee hearing on safety issues in racing, is that all the athletes, equine and human, make it home safely. Good luck players.”

The one thing you can say about Dale Hunter is that he is a hell of a nice guy. Well, okay, you can say a whole heck of a lot of things about Dale Hunter, but before anything else he’s a hell of a nice guy. “But Ryan,” you’re surely all saying, “he tried to kill all those guys he played against.” To which I say pish posh. Well okay, he did try to kill them. And a lot of times, he nearly succeeded.

So how do I know Dale Hunter, Nice Guy, is a nice guy? Two words, my friends: Benching Ovechkin. Oh yes, it’s been a controversial practice, and it’s one that got Bruce Boudreau fired into the sun — actually, a worse fate: fired into Orange County — but it’s very difficult to argue with the practice, given that it has very clearly gotten results.

Ovechkin is first and foremost a scoring machine and one that benefits from taking shifts that last six, seven, even eight hours at a stretch. The longer he’s on the ice, the more he scores. That’s probably a fact. (True believers don’t actually look these things up.) And consequently, Hunter’s hotly-contested “benching” of his mercurial Russian captain has actually been to the benefit of other teams.

Look at it this way: Ovechkin very infamously got just 13:36 of ice time in that game, and think of what he did with it. The game-winning goal (and the legendary taunt of the unwashed goons at Madison Square Garden that followed), two hits, a blocked shot and SEVEN shots on goal of his own. No one else on the team had more than four, and that was Matt Hendricks. In just over 13 and a half minutes. If this is the kind of motivation we can expect out of Ovechkin going forward — hint: it is — then woe be unto poor Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh, who will undoubtedly be trampled by the Capitals’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals and, indeed, beyond. 

Again, Hunter has met considerable criticism for his handling of the NHL’s most recognizable player, but if you think about it, he’s just doing John Tortorella a favor. We all know that the Rangers’ supremely annoying coach has a habit of keeping his press conferences shorter than Steve Gionta when the Rangers roll over someone 9-1, so for every minute Ovechkin isn’t on the ice, that’s one fewer F-bomb Torts has to drop to distract from the fact that his team can’t put more than nine shots on goal in any period. And he doesn’t have to hold his breath like a kid whose mom won’t buy him a GI Joe to hide that Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik, et al aren’t carrying the big-money water they were brought in to shoulder.

Poor Chris Kreider, at just 21 years old, pretty much has to do everything by himself. He just finished college, guys. Give the kid the chance to unwind just a little bit, eh? Selfish is what it is.

Oh, and it’s worth noting that this was in a game played at Madison Square Garden. Or, if you prefer, a building where Hunter is unable to line match. Imagine what pains and torments Ovechkin will deliver unto his opponents if he’s given favorable matchups (you know, aside from the fact that “literally anyone on the planet” is at a disadvantage when playing against him) and home ice advantage at Verizon Center.

A hat trick if he gets an extra minute or two of ice time? With four extra power play shifts? Dare we dream of an Ovechtrick?

GN: Patrick are you considered the founder?

PB: There are three of us who are co-founders. Myself, Glenn Witman who is the president and founder of GForce which is an all gay hockey team in Denver, and Brian Kitts who is a long time sports marketing professional and professor in the Denver area.

GN: Interesting, I never would have thought you would have so much based in Denver.

PB: Well I don’t know if you want the whole back story.

GN: Absolutely, I want it all.

PB: In the wake of losing my brother, I was looking for ways to get involved with something like this.  I had no idea about anything having to do with gay rights. I had no idea who to talk to.  Glenn actually reached out to me to have me moderate an “Invisible Athlete’s Forum” which is a panel discussion that we do in which gay athletes share their stories and experiences growing up as a gay athlete. We have done several of them now with coaches, players with teams and they are great.

He asked me to moderate one in Denver. So I went out to Denver and thought it was just amazing, the outreach that they do, the forums were something I really wanted to be a part of. So after doing it, I kind of pulled Glenn aside and basically, whether you guys like it or not, you guys are stuck with me because we are about to start doing some work together. I did a few more of the “Invisible Athlete” forums and continue to do those. I had an idea for something bigger.  I had the model with “You Can Play” in my head since I wrote it as an article.  I had it in my head and wanted to use it for something. 

Glenn brought in Brian who was, at the time, a professor of sports marketing at Denver University.  The three of us talked about a few different ways to do it or whether we should give it to another major gay rights group or if it was something to try other ways to handle.  Eventually we said screw it, we’ll do it ourselves.

GN: How long ago was that?

It was almost a year ago to the day to be honest with you. The first time we had the discussion when we said basically screw it let’s do it ourselves was right around April 30 of last year. We presented at the American Association of Hockey Coaches convention in Naples, Florida.  That day in the hotel we were talking about it. We had talked about giving it to different groups whether it was GLAAD or GLSEN or HRC or something like that. It was right around April 30 when we said let’s see if we can do it ourselves.

GN: You have to be thrilled with the amount of positive response you have gotten from this so far. Amazing videos, big names getting behind this right away, obviously you have spent some time getting ready for this roll out.  Also it helps having your last name and having your credentials in the NHL so I am just wondering, did you approach guys individually? Did you have a team that did outreach?

PB: The original way we did it, we set up an advisory board.  The first two NHL guys we talked to were Tommy Wingels of San Jose and Andy Miele of Phoenix who were both at Miami University when Brendan was there.

You Can Play PSA airing in the NHL Store

Both had reached out to our family in the past saying I want to do something, please find a way to get me involved. We reached out to the two of them and they hopped on board immediately, which was great.   Then we spoke with the NHL office to get permission to speak to the various teams. Then we sent an email out through my father to the other 29 NHL general managers letting them know what we were doing.  The basis of the project, we were what we stood for and asking players to participate in the project.

Like you said, having the name of Burke is helpful. The players knew we were on their side. We weren’t going to put them in positions where they might be uncomfortable or get asked questions that they weren’t fully educated about.  They knew we would take care of them.  That was something they believed in so we started getting responses from players within about 48 hours. Players were committing to appear in the video.

GN: Can I just say, holy shit?!

PB: Pretty cool right?  Pretty nerve wracking! When we sent out the email I was going to law school and in finals. So when I wasn’t living in the library I was at the rink. I was sitting in the library and was cc’d on all the emails.  So I was seeing all the emails go out, one at a time, Dear Bob to Bob Murray in Anaheim and Dear Steve to Steve Yzerman in Tampa Bay.  I was thinking if this doesn’t work I am screwed. 

They all went out. Then I remember I was sitting in the library doing some work and we got the first email back from a player saying absolutely, it is something I want to do just tell me what to do and when. It was a pretty emotional moment. It was great!

GN: I have noticed recently on Twitter that you are linking to It Gets Better. You are making more of a connection with folks who have done It Gets Better  videos. You have collegiate teams who are signing on and making videos.  Oh and by the way, thanks for putting our Sharks video up on the web page.

PB: I thought it was great.

GN: (bragging a little) That was my idea.  Emily Hall and I were shooting the bull one night and I said ‘Well let’s make a movie!’ So over the course of two games, we were down there, she had written the script, I did the fine tuning on the script, she did all the tech part and the next thing you know she is sending it out so thank you!

PB: I loved the guy who was wearing the shirt that said “I only look illegal.” That cracked me up.

GN: I thought that was perfect. That was me in the Sharks jersey with Jumbo in back of me on the tv.

PB: I had assumed you were in it.

GN: So anyway back to my questions, do you have It Gets Better folks approaching you and wanting to jump on the bandwagon? Are you making some concerted efforts to reach out to other projects who are working along the same lines?

PB: We have heard from other groups, not specifically It Gets Better.  We are very careful to narrowly tailor our mission.  We only do sports. We don’t do anything else for numerous reasons. So for that reason there have been groups that have reached out to us and we work with and provide information. But we will not join an official partnership because their groups are so much more all encompassing than what ours is.

Burke doing CBC-TV interview on the You Can Play launch day, March 4

We find when we deal with athletes, whether there are supportive of the whole package of gay rights, marriage equality, workplace equality, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell which I know has been repealed, those type of things. Many, many athletes are supportive of that but they don’t want to deal with it.  For lack of better terms, they don’t want to be in a locker room after a game and have someone stick a microphone in their face and say  “What do you think about the latest gay marriage proposal?” For the same reason they don’t usually speak out on any political or moral issue.  It’s just not something that athletes generally do. There are exceptions, of course.

We find that by narrowly tailoring our mission statement, what we ask athletes to say and support, we find that athletes are far more willing to step up and join us. All we ever ask for an athlete to say they he or she would support a gay teammate. That he or she would treat their teammates with respect and dignity.  If they want to get involved more beyond than that then we are happy to direct them to the proper groups who are doing that work.

GN: What you are saying makes total sense in terms of, like you said, having someone put a microphone in their face and asking them a question.  I think this is why Tim Thomas generated so much controversy so quickly. In my mind that was just something that you just don’t see.

PB: The athletes, for lots of reasons, are very wary of speaking out on any political issues most of the time. You see when athletes do speak up, for whatever side it is, whether it is a very liberal position or very conservative position what happens,  whether it is Steve Nash speaking up for  gay marriage or Tim Thomas saying I am not going to the White House because I don’t believe in President Obama’s policies.  You see whatever side they are on, they get a heavy amount of criticism that distracts them from their job.  We think of this as a sport but for them it’s their career. For the most part, whatever their point of view, they don’t want to get involved. Again, I am speaking generally because there are hundreds of examples of athletes who want to get involved.

We set out from the beginning we believe there are hundreds of groups who do wonderful work for gay equality, for LGBT equality in all different arenas of life and society. We decided right from the start that we were going to be sports only and safe locker rooms only. We have had some criticism from people who think we are not being aggressive enough. But we think it is the most productive way to reach out and get the players involved.

GN: So to me, granted I have never been in a men’s locker room, either pre or post game even though my training is as a sport journalist. But back in those days women did not go into the locker room. So it is left to my imagination what goes on in there.  But in women’s locker rooms, from my experience in women’s locker rooms, hockey locker rooms, nobody batted an eye about changing in a room with lesbians.  Right? We are putting our gear on and just chit chatting about whatever.  So my experience is not that homophobia is an issue in women’s locker rooms.  Do you have a different perception of that?

PB: From the female athletes we have talked to while getting this project going and having people reaching out to us, if you asked most male athletes to rate the homophobia in their locker room, I think you would hear them say a five to seven with most of being what we call casual homophobia, the use of homophobic slurs. If you asked most female athletes to rate the level of homophobia in their locker rooms, you either get a zero or a ten. So we talk to female athletes when we do outreach to colleges, and hear from sports teams, from the women’s sports teams and they say we have five lesbians on our team and it is not an issue at all. 

And you go, well that’s great. But we talk to other sports teams and they go our locker room is horrifying.  Now I hate to sound sexist and generalizing but women get mean and vicious. And you talk to lesbian athletes who are afraid to come out and they are talking about horrifying situations where they are being bullied into staying in the closet by their straight teammates. Where as in the guy’s locker room it will be more like “oh don’t be gay” and that kind of language.  But in women’s locker rooms they can get really bad. 

So it is interesting to see the different dynamics between the men’s and women’s sports whether it is a zero or a ten in the women’s locker room and I talk to coaches a lot and they can say “We have no problem. We have had lesbian athletes come through her for years and never had a problem.” Then you talk to other coaches and they say “Our locker room is out of control, we need help. We don’t know what to do.”

GN: I am thinking of a college situation. The women’s basketball coach at Penn State made homophobic remarks to her team.  I am sure they have a non-discrimination policy there and she got fired. Penn State was sued and they lost because of this coach. There are also issues of college recruiters trying to sway recruits against going to a rival college by suggesting that there are lesbians at that rival school so they shouldn’t go there.

PB: We have heard that there is a school in Idaho, where the women’s basketball coach was being negatively recruited against. We have also heard similar things in men’s sports, where some coaches have said “Oh they welcome gay players there. You don’t want to go there.”  In my mind, any coach that has to resort to that, they are so clearly out of their element, so clearly incompetent that they probably should not be working with anyone. 

GN: It doesn’t say much about the quality of their program if that is what they have to resort to.

PB: On the Flyers, we never say, “Don’t go to this other team, they’re terrible.”  We sit down and talk about the strengths of our program are, what the Philadelphia Flyers can do for you.  And that’s it. If the player wants to come, that’s great.  We would never say don’t go to New York, they are such an awful franchise. Obviously that isn’t true but we wouldn’t say it. We’re confident enough in what we do.

If there are college coaches out there that have to resort to that, well, if I was a player and heard that, I’d just walk out.  Not because not only it is horribly offensive but that is one coach admitting to a player, I can’t beat that coach. Straight up.

GN: So then I am wondering, one of your players was involved in a controversy at the beginning of the season, Wayne Simmonds, saying something to Sean Avery.  The league didn’t respond.

PB: The league did respond. This is what gets lost.  It got lost in the white noise that came out afterwards.  I have talked with numerous people about this. The league issued a statement, unequivocally, that from this point forward, any homophobic slurs would be considered the same as racists slurs. Players will then be punished accordingly.

The only reason that Wayne Simmonds did not get punished is because no one on the ice could or would confirm what he said.  The NHL has a long standing policy against lip reading. The league has a long standing policy that the only way to suspend someone for something said on the ice, is if an official can confirm that the words were used. The linesmen who were holding Wayne, the referees who were standing right there, no one could confirm what he said.  The NHL issued, this year, a very strongly worded statement, stating that, putting everyone else on notice, that going forward, this *&%$ won’t fly.  If players are going to use those words, they are going to get suspended.

GN: Well thanks for correcting me on that.  I didn’t catch that. I do my best to pay attention to all the little details, and I sure didn’t catch this.

PB: Well for obvious reasons I was intimately involved in the whole process.  I certainly got a lot of grief when I had people say “Oh well you are such an advocate for gay rights meanwhile you’ve got a player on your own team who did this. I have to explain it to them over and over. If any official on the ice had said Wayne Simmonds, if anyone could confirm that Wayne Simmonds used the word faggot towards Sean Avery, he would have been suspended.

GN: Well Avery is not exactly a sympathetic character to try and rally behind. But thank you for that clarification.

PB: There was a great statement by Colin Campbell, the vice president of the NHL.

[Campbell’s statement] “We have looked into the allegations relating to the possible use of a homophobic slur by a Flyers player in the Rangers/Flyers preseason game last night in Philadelphia. Since there are conflicting accounts of what transpired on the ice, we have been unable to substantiate with the necessary degree of certainty what was said and by whom.  To the extent we become aware of additional information conclusively establishing that an inappropriate slur was invoked, we are reserving the option to revisit the matter.”

All players, coaches and officials in the National Hockey League deserve the respect of their peers, and have the absolute right to function in a work environment that is free from racially or sexually-based innuendo or derision.” This is the National Hockey League’s policy and it will remain so going forward.

It also is important to emphasize that the National Hockey League holds, and will continue to hold, our players to higher standards with respect to their conduct both on and off the ice. While we recognize that the emotion involved in certain on-ice confrontations may lead to the use of highly charged and sometimes offensive language and commentary, certain lines cannot be crossed.

We have for many years emphasized to our clubs and players that commentary directed at the race or ethnicity of other participants in the game (or even non-participants), or that is otherwise socially or morally inappropriate or potentially hurtful — including as it may relate to sexual orientation — is absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

My father released a statement that “Colie” (Colin Campbell) did a great job articulating exactly what the punishment would be, that the NHL wouldn’t tolerate such a thing. Going forward, all our players are on notice about this.

GN: You are right, this got lost in the white noise.

PB: That’s what happened. People were justifiably outraged by the use of the term.  Then when the NHL announced that Wayne would not be suspended, everyone freaked out without reading, ok, here’s why he is not being suspended.  Everyone kind of said, how dare they not suspend somebody?  They didn’t really look in to the reasons for why we can’t suspend him.

But now, going forward, the official rule of the NHL is that homophobic slurs are a punishable offense. And this goes back to the casual homophobia. Those words are used. We know those words are used. If those words weren’t used, we wouldn’t have had to launch. We wouldn’t have needed to do the You Can Play stuff. For a long time, and it shouldn’t have been, it was an accepted part of the culture. Then to one day come out and start suspending guys for it, instead of putting everyone on notice?

GN: And doing some education, too.

PB: I don’t want to say it was unfair but it would be like two players got into a fight one day and they both got suspended.  Then the NHL said we suspend guys for fights now. And the response would be, well, wait what? Now everyone is on notice.  Now I think our players know why they can’t and shouldn’t use those words.  I think incidents like that will be few and far between.

GN: As an example the NHL had Shanahan go around and show videos of hits to all the teams and what is allowed and not allowed.  Everyone knew what to expect.

PB: Exactly. So the league has done that now and our guys know.

GN: So let’s look to the future. Say in five years, an NHL player decides he wants to live his life openly on the ice and off. You will have been instrumental in making that happen. So ultimately would that be one of your goals? Would that be fair to say?

PB: Well first of all, I don’t think it is going to take five years. I think we are much closer than that. Our organizational goal is that all players, at all levels, feel safe coming out. So our goal is that National Hockey League players feel safe to come out. College players feel safe to come out.  Beer league players feel safe to come out.  High school players feel safe to come out. 

Yeah one of our goals is to get where professional hockey players and all other sports, professional athletes, are able and willing to come out and be safe and feel secure. But we are certainly not limited to professional sports. We would like to see a culture shift in sports, at all levels. When having a gay athlete is no longer a story, that’s what we want.

GN: I can tell you from being in the Tank when Tommy’s PSA is being shown the place gets dead silent.  People are watching it.  There is no uproar over why this is being shown or any outrage.  Fans are taken aback but they are listening and watching.

PB: We have gotten some nice stories about ovations in different cities. It’s not something that historically has been part of going to a game.  I’m not at all surprised when fans are a little confused with what’s going on here. To see a player like Tommy stepping up and act in this role is awesome.  As the players take leadership roles, the fans will follow. The younger ones will follow. 

I know from watching them for years that if they are not already, Shark fans will fall in love with Tommy. Having him on board is great for us. He is a great kid, we are lucky to have him on board.

Gloria and Tommy

San Jose fans should also know that other Sharks players have spoken with Tommy about this. They are very supportive. Going forward, Sharks fans can look forward to seeing more players than Tommy come forward. From the sound of it, we might have four or five guys doing PSA’s for us. So for Sharks fans, you will see Tommy but you can look forward to seeing more guys.  He is actively recruiting behind the scenes.

The more we go forward the more we hear from different athletes.  You don’t want to say guys you wouldn’t expect but, you know, with some guys they would be a pipe dream, there’s no way they would ever do it. Guys like that are reaching out to us.  Guys reaching out on Twitter saying how do I get involved? How do I do a video? It’s pretty cool seeing so many guys in the National Hockey League rally around us and have such strong support.

GN: It gives me a lot of hope. Personally, I have been through a lot as an activist. Hockey is what keeps me going. So I want to thank you for what you are doing, it is going to have such an impact on so many people’s lives. Not everyone can do this and have such a big impact in so many different ways.  It is a testimony to you but it is also a testimony to your brother.  Sometimes simple bravery is about being able to put your feet on the floor in the morning. And tell the truth. I hope there are ways that fans can be helpful.

PB: As we get more of our plans together, get a little more grounded with what we are going to do, I am sure there will be ways for you and other fans to be involved.

We got plans going in to the summer.  The web site itself will have the capability of fans being able to upload their own videos. That we think will get more fans involved in that way. Looks like there are going to be regional fund raisers. There is going to be one in LA for sure. As we get in to the fall, looks like we will have our play book, our resource guide for coaches and athletes, schools and fans. We will certainly be mobilizing our friends and allies to get those out to their schools and teachers plus fellow fans and athletes.

GN: I have to compliment you on your knowledge of even the right terminology, saying marriage equality, terms like that.

PB: It took a lot of work, reading a lot of studies, religious articles, educating myself.  I didn’t want to go out and insult the LGBT community by not knowing what you are dealing with. There are a couple, but not too many groups that have their foot in both camps, sports and LGBT equality.

GN: I like the fact that there is not a bunch of in fighting about this. You are being focused and effective.  Changing the culture is not an easy undertaking.  But I can already see the difference.

PB: We do not do turf wars with anyone.  If there are other groups who do something better than we do then we are happy to step back and play our role. We are not going to fight for resources, we are not going to step on anyone’s toes. If there are things they do better, we are happy to sit on the sideline and watch.  We do not do turf wars.

GN: Well the funny thing to me is that we are all athletes. We are competitive.  Of course we want to do the best we can and we want to win.

PB: Well the thing about me was that I was a lousy athlete.  I had a good work ethic and leadership but when it came game time I was there to sit on the bench and make people laugh.  Now if someone is doing something better than us, I will be happy to sit in the back and make people laugh.

GN: This project, I think, will have a profound effect on all of us. Please let us know ways we can support You Can Play! Thank you so much for all your time!

–You can follow Gloria on twitter and read her work in  Frontiers Magazine and San Francisco Gate