If You Can Play……..
“If you can play, you can play.”
Yes, it’s that simple.
Anyone who follows the NHL knows what that quote refers to: the You Can Play project, an initiative recently started by Patrick Burke, Brian Kitts and Glenn Witman to encourage respect and inclusion of LGBT athletes around the world.
YCP has gained a lot of support from players in the NHL, AHL and OHL, along with broadcasters and coaches league-wide. A series of videos – have you seen them all? – have been professionally released, but there’s also videos swirling around the Internet of other players with words of encouragement for the project.
The list of players who have shown support for this project is impressive and includes the likes of respected team captains such as Jason Pominville, Daniel Alfredsson, Dion Phaneuf, Rick Nash and Zdeno Chara. Power forward Steven Stamkos, tough guy Brandon Prust and youngster Tyler Bozak are among the list. Need I continue?
Players from sixteen teams have filmed PSAs for the project, with more to come. Broadcast analysts from TSN, along with players from the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, have also filmed videos, all available at the project’s website.
The point of You Can Play is to encourage people to stand up against homophobic comments traditionally associated with the locker room and sports in general, and allow LGBT athletes to freely express themselves without fear. Because when you’re trying to hide a large part of your personality, how can you possibly focus 100% on the sport you love and play for a living?
It’s not just in the locker room that this becomes an issue. A simple search on Twitter during a game will find a slew of fans handing out homophobic comments about a player on the opposing team. Forums and other Internet sites are the same. While not everyone participates in these discussions, many do – it’s a problem, and it needs to stop.
The first question that lies at the heart of all this: why is calling something ‘gay’ (or a related term) considered an insult?
And second: why are we allowing these comments to be made?
While YCP focuses on the locker room, we as fans can focus on our own behavior. If you see someone make a comment on Twitter – call them out on it. Don’t be rude, but encourage them not to use that language and reinforce that gay jokes and homophobic comments are never appropriate. Some people may not even realize what they’re saying or the effect it may have.
Allow me to pull a short paragraph from Brian Kitts’ biography on the YCP site that sums it up nicely:
"“It turns out that most of us have a gay little brother or sister, or uncle, cousin, teammate or best friend. We all laugh and snicker at gay jokes and we call each other names. We’re just kidding, kind of, and it’s funny, right? We might not mean anything by it, but the subtle pressure, casual homophobia and true lack of understanding are keeping our brothers and sisters, uncles, cousins, teammates and best friends from being great athletes.”"
You Can Play is all about recognizing someone’s talent, ability, heart and skill. Why does it matter who they are attracted to or who they love? As the saying goes: if you can skate, you can skate, and if you can score, you can score.
Henrik Lundqvist says it. So does Corey Perry, and David Steckel, and James Van Riemsdyk and many others. If you can play, you can play, and that’s all that matters.
If you’re gay, that’s cool. If you’re straight, that’s also cool. The point is: It doesn’t matter! A great person is a great person and a great athlete is a great athlete, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Find out more at youcanplayproject.org, and watch for their PSAs during hockey games or online. Stand up, speak out and support.
Fans, players, coaches, members of the media: everyone remember this. It’s only seven words.
If you can play, you can play.