June 28, 2010
Major League Athletes March in Chicago Pride
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Chicago's Pride celebration was attended by nearly half a million people, including a few celebrities such as newly-out country singer Chely Wright. What made the event stand out, however, was the fact that major sports figures were also part of the celebration.
One of the most striking inclusions was former pro hockey player Brent Sopel, who used to play with the Chicago Blackhawks. Sopel carried hockey's top trophy, the Stanley Cup, as he rode on a float provided by the Chicago Gay Hockey Association, reported the Chicago Sun-Times on June 28. Sopel had already mde headlines in advance of the event just for announcing plans to carry the Stanley Cup in the parade; initial reports had said that Sopel would also be accompanied by his wife and their four children. In the event, his wife was there on the float with him.
"We teach our kids about accepting everybody. Tolerate everybody, to understand where everyone is coming from," Sopel told NBC Chicago.com last week.
Sopel carried the cup in honor of Brendan Burke, openly gay son of former hockey champ--and now Maple Leafs general manager--Brian Burke. Brendan Burke was killed earlier this year in a car crash.
Another major athlete to participate in Chicago Pride parade was Ernie Banks, who plays with baseball team the Chicago Cubs. The article said that Banks was among members of the Ricketts family, the Cubs' new owners. One of the new owners is lesbian activist Laura Ricketts.
Gay and gay-supportive athletes have been in the news more and more of late, as retired athletes come out of the closet and younger athletes increasingly set aside the sort of anti-gay bias that marred the sports world for so long.
After the Chicago Pride event, Sopel told GLBT athletics site OutSports that the parade was "awesome" and "amazing," adding, "I hope it raised some awareness."
Added the hockey pro, who has recently been traded to Atlanta, "I wasn't here to advocate, but if coming here helps break down walls in the meantime, so be it. I was here for Brendan. I hope he is smiling."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
