First, I’d like to thank all the outraged bloggers who helped make last week’s article, “Fighting is good for hockey and Sabres,” go viral.
Your much-appreciated efforts generated free publicity for the Niagara Falls Reporter. For this we are grateful.
It seems the article’s last two paragraphs have many members of the pro-homosexual lobby in an absolute tizzy. My first suggestion is that those so affected calm down by taking several deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth. If necessary, repeat this process until your present state of hysteria subsides and you are able to again operate normally and rationally.
Apparently, any criticism of the National Hockey League’s decision to advance the pro-homosexual promotion You Can Play will be answered with bargain-basement insults and nonsensical arguments. Judging from the rhetoric induced by my article, a number of the supporters of homosexuality and the You Can Play project do not count reading comprehension and self-control among their character traits.
In last week’s article, I mentioned that You Can Play is an abominable NHL promotion. Let me be clear. While technically You Can Play is not an NHL promotion, NHL logos are used and NHL players are seen in their NHL uniforms, signs that it has the support of the NHL.
For the uninitiated, You Can Play is co-founded by Patrick Burke, a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers and son of Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke. His brother, Brendan Burke, an openly gay college hockey manager for the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks, was killed in a car crash in 2010. The project is committed to fighting “homophobia” in sports.
The organization’s website claims it is “dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.” According to its mission statement, You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, only by what they contribute to the sport or their team’s success. You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit.”
Among the NHL players who have lent their support to the promotion are Rick Nash, Brian Boyle, Claude Giroux, Daniel Alfredsson, Scott Hartnell, Zdeno Chara, Dustin Brown, Shea Weber, Henrik Lundqvist and enforcer George Parros.
“We’ve got 35 guys committed to the filming and so far 30 guys I believe have now been filmed,” Burke says. “We’re hoping that as other guys see the PSA’s (public service announcements) and see what we’re all about, more and more of them will find ways to get involved to show their support.”
Burke insists the project is necessary because of what he calls “casual homophobia” that exists in locker rooms and prevents gay players from being candid about their sexuality.
“Those guys are using homophobic slurs but not meaning them in a homophobic sense. You see a guy say ‘don’t be gay’ and he’s not saying ‘don’t be a homosexual,’ he’s saying ‘don’t be an ass,'” says Burke. “We’re all about makin’ fun of each other. I understand how guys bond. But we need to cut out that language so those athletes that are hiding can feel safe.”
So let me get this straight (no pun intended). The kind of behavior the “You Can Play” project is determined to eradicate from the game of hockey is neither “homophobic” nor directed toward homosexuals. The situation, according to co-founder Patrick Burke, is more a case of guys being guys, developing camaraderie within a team by busting each other’s chops in a good natured and harmless way.
Homophobia, as defined by the gay lobby, is “an irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.” That’s not at all what Burke claims some NHL players are guilty of.