Brock McGillis Says ‘Heated Rivalry’ Won’t Help Gay NHL Players Come Out

Brock McGillis is pushing back at the narrative that HBO’s new Heated Rivalry series might help more hockey players come out.

McGillis, who is regarded as the first openly gay professional hockey player, told the website PinkNews on Monday, Dec. 15 that he “wholeheartedly” disagrees with fellow retired hockey player Sean Avery’s recent comments that the show could help encourage other players to come out.

“It’s probably more likely to have an adverse effect on a player coming out,” McGillis, 42, told the website. “And I hate to be negative because I really enjoy the show. But I also don’t believe that many hockey bros are going to watch it. And I don’t think, if they are watching it, they’re talking about it positively.”

The hit series, based on author Rachel Reid’s popular novel series Game Changers, centers around two gay players in the fictional equivalent of the NHL who navigate a secret relationship over the course of eight years while both are two of the league’s biggest stars.

Starring actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, Heated Rivalry was originally adapted for the Canadian streaming service Crave but began streaming on HBO Max on Nov. 28, and was picked up for a second season on Friday.

Last week, Avery — a former NHL player-turned-romance novelist himself — told Rolling Stone that he believes the series’ success could inspire gay NHL players to come out.

“Heated Rivalry’s success should open the door for the first gay NHL player, if there is one,” Avery told the magazine.

But McGillis, who came out in 2016 after he had retired from a semi-professional hockey career that included several seasons in the Ontario Hockey League and the United Hockey League, disagreed.

“It might help the people around [players] understand a little more if they’re dating somebody; hopefully,” the retired hockey player and current LGBTQ+ activist told PinkNews in response to Avery’s comments, adding that NHL players “didn’t jump out of the closet” when he came out in 2016 and began doing interviews.

“Nobody’s like, ‘Oh, yeah. This came out and now I’m ready [to come out],’ ” McGillis told the website. “It’s not happening.”

McGillis says hockey has a problem with homophobia, which is normalized in the sport and “starts at a very young age and progresses.”

But McGilis told PinkNews he believes the sports’ team-centered culture could actually help them rally around players who decide to come out: “If a player did come out, hockey players would be the most likely to rally around their teammate more than any of the other big sports.”