I am sure most people in this class are Canucks fans, and likely die-hards – and most of you likely hate the Leafs, as well. As I confessed (terrifyingly) at the beginning of the semester, I was born outside of Toronto and was born and raised a Leafs fan.
This post isn’t about the Leafs.
It’s about Brian Burke, the GM for the Leafs. In 2010, Burke’s openly gay son Brendan died in a car accident. Brian Burke has been vocal about his support for the gay community, and has marched in the Toronto Pride Parades that have occurred since Brendan’s death.
About a month ago, Burke and his other son, Patrick, launched the “You Can Play” campaign, which aims to end homophobia in hockey and – let’s up – professional sports in general. You can watch one of the first campaign videos here.
This is a fantastic campaign and it should have been initiated sooner. There is severe discrimination against LGBT people in most sports and the gender biases that athletic organizations are obsessed with make me sick. I am also glad that someone else in the class is tackling this issue too 😉