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Real-life hockey player Jesse Korteum credits the achievement Popular romantic drama series fierce competition, about Two undisclosed competitors in the sportinspiring him to reveal his homosexuality.
Cottem, who is from Minnesota, said in a new social media post that he spent his career on the rink as a closeted athlete and struggled to “reconcile both identities,” but that the TV show encouraged him to share his story publicly.
The athlete, who played defenseman/center in multiple leagues but not the NHL, explained that he came out to close friends and family but didn’t feel safe enough to tell teammates about his sexual orientation.
“Those who know me best know that I don’t share much, if anything, publicly on social media, but recently, something sparked a spark in me (well — yes, credit to #HeatedRivalry). I realized it was finally time to share the journey I’ve been keeping under wraps for so long,” he wrote.
Cottem said that as the youngest of four boys playing competitive sports, he felt like he had to “keep a part of himself hidden for too long” on the ice.
“As a young teenager, I carried a weight that seemed out of place in that world, and I lived in a constant state of dichotomy,” he continued. “I loved the sport, but I lived in constant fear. I wondered how I could be gay and still play such a tough and masculine sport.”
Coltum also said there was “little positive coverage in the media” and that coming out in high school in the 2000s would be a “social disaster.”
Cotum added that when he was living in New York and Atlanta as an adult, he “came out to a lot of people around me at the time,” but not his teammates.
He continued: “I spent every week in the locker room with people that I respected, but I still didn’t feel safe enough to tell them who I really was.”
In the post, he thanked Vancouver-based LGBT+ hockey association Cutting Edges for reminding him that “there’s room for all of us on the ice.”
fierce competitionThe series follows two closeted gay and bisexual professional hockey players as they grapple with how their relationships will impact their careers. taking the internet by storm And rocked the hockey world.
One of the show’s main characters, Hudson Williams, who plays hockey player Sean Holland, revealed that he received a number of heartfelt messages from multiple people that week. closeted professional athletes After the hockey romance series went viral.
“People who reach out anonymously will say, ‘I’m still a pro and I’m still secretive,'” Williams said on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show. radio andy.
The actor said the show “hit a nerve with people,” and athletes from across sports, including football and basketball players, reached out to him.
fierce competition The Season 1 finale aired last month, ending the show’s six-week stretch of record-breaking fame. The series is based on the book series by Rachel Reid game changerhas been renewed for a second season on Crave/HBO Max. The show airs on Sky in the UK this week.
The NHL has never had an openly gay player. But 23-year-old Canadian Luke Prokop became the first player to sign with an NHL team I will reveal my homosexuality in 2021. Although he plays for the AHL affiliate, he has not yet entered the NHL.
Prokop recently told new york times Some NHL teams view LGBT+ players as a “distraction” to the sport.
“It’s tricky with hockey and the LGBTQ community. You don’t want to do too much to draw attention to it, and some teams might say, ‘Oh, we think it’s a distraction. So, we don’t want them on our team.’ There have been times where that has happened,” he said.
The NHL banned Pride Night jerseys and rainbow-colored tape in October 2023, months after some players chose not to participate in the team’s Pride Night celebrations. But the tape ban was lifted when Arizona Coyotes linebacker Travis Dermott violated rules during a game by covering his stick with rainbow tape.