Philadelphia Flyers scout Patrick Burke is urging gay athletes to follow in the footsteps of his brother Brendan, who died nearly two years ago, and come out of the closet in the hyper-masculine world of sports.
"We need more straight and gay athletes at the professional level need to step up and say it's OK," he told CTV's National Affairs Friday. "We need more role models."
Burke, who is the son of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, said his brother Brendan was the first gay person he really knew.
"Seeing him stand up at age 20 and say, ‘I'm openly gay and my sports team accepts me and my family loves me,' I think that's a great role model for everyone everywhere to have the courage to be yourself and be a leader."
Burke said there's an unfortunate stereotype that gay men are less masculine and "having a masculine role model for a young male athlete would be a huge, huge step forward."
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