Patrick Burke tells closeted athletes to trust their teammates

On the Our Group blog, Patrick Burke shares his insights after two years of advocacy as an ally:


In the two years that I have been doing outreach to the athletic community regarding LGBT athletes, fans, and coaches, I have been lucky enough to share the stage with fantastic representatives of the LGBT community: Openly gay coaches, administrators, team captains, record setters, leading scorers, All-Americans, and Olympians. They share their stories to our audience, usually college sports teams, with tremendous openness and honesty. I provide the straight ally’s perspective, which generally consists of me listing all the ways I screwed up before I knew how to treat the LGBT community with respect.

After the second or third “Invisible Athlete Forum”, I began to notice a pattern. At some point during our talks, while I was listing all the mistakes I had made, all of the LGBT athletes would list one universal mistake: “I wish I had given my straight teammates more credit for being accepting.”

We all know that locker rooms can be intimidating for LGBT athletes. The constant use of casual homophobia can intimidate anyone into staying in the closet for fear of being ostracized. This is the principle focus of the You Can Play Project- encouraging athletes to end casual homophobia and make the sports world safe for the gay community. But every single one of the athletes I have presented with has expressed their regret for not trusting their teammates to support them when they came out.

Keep reading HERE.

A look at the You Can Play project

"The Hockey Writers" website presents the You Can Play project:

For an athlete, sport is a passion. An escape. A chance to be who they really are for a portion of the day. So if an athlete can’t be all of these things in their natural environment, what’s the point? The makeup of the athlete shouldn’t matter. If they can play, then they can play.
Founded last fall, the You Can Play Project aims to showcase and celebrate athletes for who they truly are, including putting an end to homophobia in sports.

“For too long, athletes have been judged on things in addition to talent, skill, work ethic, and that includes sexual orientation,” said Brian Kitts, co-founder of the project. “You Can Play is really interested in promoting athletes as pure athletes; stripping things down to the basics of your work ethic, your talent, your skill, and whether you can help your team succeed.”

Kitts, along with Glenn Witman and Patrick Burke, developed You Can Play after meeting at an event in Denver. Witman, founder and president of G-Force Sports, an organization that aims to give a voice to the invisible LGBT athlete, and Burke, a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers and full-time student, collaborated with Kitts on a cause that is hugely important to all parties.

Keep reading HERE.

Hockey's new battle against homophobia

The Atlantic reviews that status of homophobia and the fight against homophobia in ice hockey, including the actions of people like Sean Avery, Patrick and Brian Burke, and Jeff Kagan: 
When Adam Knoerzer and his partner were in Los Angeles to see the Pittsburgh Penguins play the L.A. Kings, last November, they found themselves sandwiched between two, seemingly incongruous parts of hockey culture. To their left was a lesbian couple, supporting the Kings. To their right was a father-and-son duo cheering for Knoerzer's Penguins, all the while talking about "what a fag the PA announcer was," Knoerzer recalls. For Knoerzer, a self-described beer-drinking, TV-screaming, show tune-hating, hockey guy who came out a decade ago, it remains a jarring, telling experience.

"It was so bizarre being in between lesbians on my left and a father and son on the right, who are unabashedly trashing this guy because they think he's a gay and a queen," Knoerzer, 27, says. "When the Penguins scored, [the father] would give us high fives. I kept thinking, 'Would you give us a high five if I told you that this is the man I love?'"

This experience highlights the tensions that still exist among hockey fans when it comes to homosexuality. It has been a little more than a year since Sean Avery, the lightning-rod of an NHL player and gay marriage advocate, spoke out in support of gay teammates in hockey. Avery's endorsement was just one of several recent milestones in the discussion concerning the sometimes complicated relationship between players, coaches, and fans of hockey and the gay community.

"We've created an atmosphere where players can come out in support of LGBT issues," says Brian Silva, interim executive director of Marriage Equality New York. "But we're still not at the point where anyone from the LGBT community feels comfortable playing."

Keep reading HERE.

News from Outsports on "You Can Play"

News from Outsports on "You Can Play":

Patrick Burke’s ‘You Can Play’ project launches on NBC featuring eight NHL players
Mar 4th, 2012 by Cyd Zeigler jr.

Philadelphia Flyer scout Patrick Burke has unveiled a new non-profit organization created to lay out the welcome mat in sports for LGBT athletes. The “You Can Play” project focuses on producing videos of mostly professional athletes with a simple message: If you can play sports, you’re always invited to play with us.

A 30-second video of eight NHL players (including Blue Jacket Rick Nash, right) saying various incarnations of “You can play” airs on NBC during the first intermission of the New York Rangers-Boston Bruins game Sunday, March 4. The game starts at 12:30pmET. The spot was shot and produced by HBO. It is the first of many the group says will soon be available on their Web site. You can watch a 60-second version of the video below.



Burke is the brother of the late Brendan Burke, the openly gay Miami (Ohio) men’s hockey manager who was killed in a car crash in 2010. Since Brendan’s death, Patrick has found incredible support for his brother and for gay equality in sports. In fact, he struggles to think of any personally homophobic incidents he has encountered in the NHL since Brendan’s death.
The “You Can Play Project” is designed to show that sports simply aren’t as homophobic as many people think.

“The sports world is all about just talent,” Burke told Outsports. “If you’re good enough to help a team win, you can play. Athletes aren’t as homophobic as people think. Athletes are ready for and would support a gay teammate. And for most of these guys it’s a complete non-issue.”

Keep reading HERE.

Patrick Burke to launch new project to support LGBT athletes

From Patrick Burke, brother of Brendan Burke and son of FGG Legacy Award winner Brian Burke, his message on You Can Play, his new organization aimed at supporting athletes who come out:


I am honored and proud to be a founding partner of the You Can Play Project. My brother Brendan taught me what the locker room can be like for young LGBT athletes, then showed me the difference one person can make by standing up for what is right. With the You Can Play Project, we hope to provide a means for athletes, coaches, and fans to stand up and create an atmosphere of inclusion. As each person or team stands up, LGBT athletes everywhere will become aware that they can be themselves without fear. Freed from the burdens of fear and shame, these athletes will be free to play to their full potential, making our teams, our leagues, and the sports themselves better, stronger, and more entertaining.

It's time to change the way the world thinks about athletes - both straight and gay. Talent, work ethic, and character are all that matters when evaluating a player. It's time for straight allies to show their character by enabling LGBT athletes to show their talents without fear. If you can play, You Can Play.

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You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.

You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, only by what they contribute to the sport or their team’s success.

You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit.