Patrick Burke, a professional hockey scout for the Philadelphia Flyers and son of Toronto Maple Leafs President and General Manager Brian Burke, is one of the biggest crusaders against anti-gay sentiment in major professional American sports.
Burke’s younger brother, Brendan, played for the Miami University of Ohio. Sadly, four months out of the closet, he was killed in a car accident. In Brendan’s honor, Patrick established You Can Play, a project that’s “dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation,” according to its mission statement.
On Thursday afternoon, he took to Reddit to let users ask him almost anything (AmAA).
A select group of redditors, who are hockey fans were already well aware of Burke, wrote in awe of his accomplishments.
“What was your reaction when [former Blackhawk defenseman] Brent Sopel chose to honor your brother by taking the Stanley Cup to the Chicago Gay Pride parade in the summer of 2010?” asked jacksonattack.
“It was an awesome moment for the hockey world,” Burke replied. “Brent reached out to ask our permission first, and we were more than happy to give it.”
When asked for his first reaction when he found out his brother was gay, Burke replied, “I gave Brendan a hug, told him I didn’t care. Then we walked back inside my family’s house and I yelled ‘Mom, you owe me twenty bucks! I always told you he was gay!’ An older brother’s job is always to harass his younger brother. I wanted Brendan to know that nothing would change about our relationship.”
Burke was explicit that he didn’t want You Can Play to overreach.
“We do not do marriage equality, workplace equality, gays in the military, etc. We do not endorse political candidates,” he wrote. “Supporting You Can Play means that you are supporting one idea and one idea only- the idea that every athlete, fan, and coach deserves to be treated with respect and allowed to participate actively in sports without harassment.”
Similarly, he said, he’d never condemn a player for not wanting to help his organization.
“We do not comment on players that may have been approached,” he wrote. “We don’t ever want a player to feel shamed into participating.”
His comments were overwhelmingly well-received.
“As a huge Flyers fan, I would like to thank you,” wrote daddyleglonger. “Ive never been so proud of my team and the sport I love.”
“As an openly gay hockey player,” wrote thatguy1433, “I just wanted to say thanks for doing what you’re doing.”
