The Toronto Maple Leafs have approved the use of their team name and logo in an upcoming film (or TV show, I’ve heard both) about a “fictional” retired Maple Leaf (probably Tie Domi) who happens to be gay, and who happens to want to raise “a budding queen of an 11-year-old boy.”
SLAM! Sports tries to get some reaction to it … they talked to Anson Carter, a Columbus Blue Jacket, and a guy who understands a little something about being a minority in the NHL, seeing that he’s black.
“You’re talking about a lifestyle—homosexuality and heterosexuality—it’s a choice…but people are people from my personal standpoint.”
“We have 700 players (in the NHL) and if we have one gay player in the league, I wouldn’t be that surprised.”
Carter went on to say that it wouldn’t bother him if a teammate was openly homosexual, “as long as you’re a good teammate and a good person…that’s all that matters to me.”
“If that’s what the (NHL) wants fine…the world’s changing now…maybe people will be more open now.”
There’s probably more than one gay player in the league … but all in all, I’ll take it, Anson Carter. Another guy, though, who opted to remain nameless, had a different take.
At least one former NHL player (who preferred to remain anonymous) commented that the film “tarnished the sacred icon of Canada and the Maple Leafs’ organisation.”
“What do you expect when you have a fomer basketball guy running the league,” the player stated, in reference to Commissioner Gary Bettman’s previous tenure in the National Basketball Association.
And we have found an asshole … that didn’t take long.
I don’t understand, chief. Are you suggesting that the NBA is some sort of haven for gay sexual activity? Listen, I’m like the rest of you … I would love to believe that Mike Sweetney blows Jordan Farmar every other Thursday, but I just don’t think that’s true. I mean, the NBA has a ton of image problems, but I didn’t think rampant deviant gay sex was one of them. I thought the LPGA had the market monopolized on that particular stereotype.
And by the way, if you were looking for the sport with the most hot man-on-man action … hockey might be a pretty good bet, as long as you like your hot man-on-man action to involve a teenager and be of the “forced” variety. Canadian junior hockey has a history of sexual abuse of young boys, most notably this Graham James character, and then the extremely weird Mike Danton story, in which sexual abuse was strongly suspected.
Yeah, you wouldn’t want to tarnish hockey’s image with something like a movie about a gay, retired, hockey player.
Matt R Says:
November 28th, 2006 at 3:30 am
This should bring on a whole new meaning to the term……Oh, fuck, I don’t know any hockey terms.
Does someone want to complete the joke for me?
Andrew Says:
November 28th, 2006 at 6:25 am
The dig at Bettman for being a basketball guy is just the standard fallback insult for people who claim he doesn’t “get” hockey; this although he’s been NHL commish longer than he was in the NBA office.
Mark Says:
November 28th, 2006 at 9:45 am
I heard a statistic one time, long ago, I think from a radio station, that something like 20% of NHL players are gay. That is bewilderingly high.
A big deal? Maybe, if one of the sport’s signature stars is gay. At this point, with hockey foundering in America’s consciousness (if not outright dead), perhaps someone should come out of the closet to A) bring attention to this “problem,” and bring society up to modern intelligent thought, and B) bring attention back to the NHL.
Don’t laugh. Bettman’s probably thinking about such a gimmick, especially if he’s good friends with David “I can’t think of enough gimmicks” Stern.
HuangKong Says:
November 28th, 2006 at 10:23 am
i agree w/ mark - people already think hockey sucks. so, why not?
matt r: the terms you are looking for are “butt-ending” or “poke check”
tony Says:
November 28th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
A big deal? Maybe, if one of the sport’s signature stars is gay.
Does Jaromir Jagr still count as a “signature star”? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure he hasn’t spent any “time in the box” in the last 10 years.
(And MJD, props on the Sheldon Kennedy/Graham James reference. Always a crowd favorite.)
BA Says:
November 28th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
That picture is frightening.
Mr. Bojangles Says:
November 29th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
Is this a ploy to move the San Jose Sharks to San Francisco?
Head Chick Says:
December 1st, 2006 at 6:22 pm
The NBA is rampant with gay sex. Please check out this picture of Cuttino Mobley.
http://leave-the-man-alone.blogspot.com/2006/11/what-is-cuttino-mobley-doing-in.html
Jimmy Says:
December 1st, 2006 at 9:19 pm
One retired former Maple Leaf I’ve heard numerous times is gay is Wendel Clark. Could be him.
Ellana Says:
December 4th, 2006 at 3:15 am
I don’t get what “go five-hole” means.
Jai Says:
February 15th, 2007 at 8:03 am
Ellana, do you mean in a hockey sense or in a gay sense?
In hockey, going five hole means shooting the puck at the space between the legs of the goaltender in order to try to get it past them into the net. The four other holes are the two top corners of the net and the two holes between the goalies’ legs and the net.
I think fromthat one can use their imagination to decide what holes might refer to in a gay context.