Boston NHL player on playing with a gay teammate

 

In an exclusive interview with Boston Spirit, Shawn Thornton of the Boston Bruins  tells what it might be like if one of his fellow hockey players came out:

By David Zimmerman

Shawn Thornton loves Boston. Boston loves Shawn Thornton.

That has been the case since the day Thornton arrived in town to play for our Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.

Thornton, 34, is a bruising six-foot-two-inch, 217-pound, left winger for the Bruins who throws punches as hard as his slap shot. In fact, more than a few unfortunate opponents would argue that the punches are actually much harder. He is known as the team’s ‘enforcer,’ the player assigned to protect his teammates and often fights to do so.

You wouldn’t necessarily think that Thornton, the enforcer from a “blue collar, industrial town about 20 minutes outside of Toronto” would be first in line for a sit-down with an LGBT publication like Boston Spirit. You would be wrong. Thornton met with Boston Spirit recently for an exclusive one-on-one interview.

Boston Spirit: What do you think would happen if one of your teammates announced he was gay?

Shawn Thornton: Honestly, my teammates are like family so there would be support. I would personally [support] him and I’m pretty sure everyone in our locker room would. We’ve got a pretty good bunch of guys. I don’t think there would be any issues.

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