The British rugby star Ben Cohen, pictured, has been the most public straight sports superstar to show support for the gay community and end bullying and homophobia in sports. But even Cohen had retired before he dedicated himself to the cause, and he is European. Which might make the You Can Play project a first: active American and Canadian ice hockey players making public service announcements in support of gay inclusion in sports.
The project was inspired after NHL general manager Patrick Burke’s brother came out as gay. When he was killed in a 2010 accident, Burke (now at the Toronto Maple Leafs) co-founded the project, which has as its mission creating a homophobia-free environment to allow gay players to know their straight teammates will accept them.
You can see some of the videos here.
