overwhelming popularity fierce competition may have given a hockey player the strength to come out, but backlash against a show about a hockey player’s secret romance in a Boston high school was blamed for bullying of LGBTQ+ athletes by players and coaches.
“As fierce competition is growing in popularity, and as it drives conversations about hockey culture and what happens on and off the ice, we are increasingly concerned about the backlash we are now seeing in school-affiliated hockey environments across the Commonwealth,” an open letter from Boston Civil Rights Lawyers published on March 3.
The letter urges Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to immediately address “outrageous incidents” of LGBTQ+ hatred experienced by athletes in the school’s affiliated lacrosse program.
“We have observed a significant spike in reports of bullying and harassment within school-affiliated lacrosse programs, particularly toward students who are gay or perceived to be gay,” the letter said.
LCR said it had received an “alarming number” of complaints in the past two weeks “involving homophobic slurs, locker room intimidation, team bullying and harassment” which the organization contacted fierce competitionThe steamy show follows rival NHL players as they secretly have trysts over the years while hiding their sexuality for fear of homophobia.
“We fear this rise is a backlash to the series’ growing profile and popularity fierce competition— and the resulting attention, comments and social media discussion surrounding gay hockey players,” the letter continued.
Anti-LGBTQ+ students across Massachusetts face bullying not only from their peers but also from adult coaching staff, which LCR claims limits their ability to participate in sports because of who they are.
LCR received reports from students who were “intentionally benched during games, denied meaningful playing time without legitimate athletic justification, and otherwise isolated from team activities and social activities.”
The letter said the coach also used vulgar and homophobic language when addressing underage athletes, making statements that “clearly policed gender expression and used graphic, sexualized language,” including telling students not to “play like they’re gay” and referring to them playing defense like they had “dicks in their asses,” according to student reports.
The letter also claims that the school district and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association are “unwilling to adequately intervene when incidents of discrimination occur during MIAA events.”
“fierce competition “We are starting important community conversations, particularly about LGBTQ+ people in sports, and public conversations should not be chilled by bullying, harassment and intimidation,” said LCR Executive Director Iván Espinoza-Madrigal. 12 news.
He said these were not isolated incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ bullying, but were occurring at multiple schools across the Commonwealth.
Espinosa-Madrigal added: “The increase in high school hockey bullying incidents occurring independently in multiple public schools over a short period of time demonstrates the existence of a systemic issue worthy of civil rights attention.”
LCR urges the Attorney General’s Office to “take immediate steps to combat identity-based bullying, harassment, and exclusion in school athletics” and ensure that the MIAA “does not abdicate its responsibility to investigate, remediate, and prevent identity-based harassment in school athletics.”
Campbell responded to the letter’s claims in a statement to 12 News and outlined the steps her office has taken to combat discrimination.
“Homophobia and hatred of any kind have no place in our locker rooms, rinks or athletic fields, and I am committed to ensuring that all young people feel safe and supported in classrooms and on our athletic teams,” she said. “My office leads a statewide initiative to address hate in schools and athletics and takes all reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination very seriously.”
This article was originally published in Out: “Rapid rise of rivalry blamed on anti-LGBTQ+ bullying by high school hockey team”