The overwhelming popularity of Heated Rivalry may have given one hockey player the strength to come out, but in Boston high schools, backlash to the show about closeted hockey players falling in love is being blamed for player and coaches bullying LGBTQ+ athletes.
"As Heated Rivalry grows in popularity—and as it fuels conversation 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,” a March 3 open letter from the Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston states.
The letter urged Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to immediately address the “heinous incidents” of LGBTQ+ hate experienced by athletes in school-affiliated hockey programs.
“We have observed a noticeable spike, particularly in reports of bullying and harassment within school-affiliated hockey programs, especially conduct that targets students who are gay or perceived to be gay,” the letter said.
LCR said they have received an “alarming number” of complaints in the past two weeks that “involve homophobic slurs, locker room intimidation, team-based hazing, and harassment,” which the group connects back to Heated Rivalry, a steamy show about rival NHL players who spend years sneaking around having sexual trysts while hiding their sexuality for fear of homophobia.
“We are concerned that this rise is a backlash to the growing visibility and popularity of the television series Heated Rivalry—and the resulting attention, commentary, and social media discourse it has generated around gay hockey players,” the letter continues.
The anti-LGBTQ+ bullying students across Massachusetts are facing isn’t just coming from their peers, but from the adult coaching staff as well, who LCR claims are curtailing their ability to participate in sports because of their identity.
LCR has received reports from students who are “being intentionally benched during games, denied meaningful playing time without legitimate athletic justification, and otherwise isolated from team events and bonding activities.”
According to reports from students, the letter claims coaches are also using crass and homophobic language when addressing minor athletes, making statements that “explicitly police gender expression and use graphic, sexualized language,” including telling a student not to “play like they are gay” and references to playing defense like they had a “dick in their ass.”
The letter also claims that the school district and Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association are “unwilling to adequately intervene when discriminatory incidents arise” during MIAA events.
“Heated Rivalry is opening up important community conversations, especially about LGBTQ+ people in sports, and public discourse shouldn’t be chilled by bullying, harassment, and intimidation,” LCR Executive Director Iván Espinoza-Madrigal told 12 News.
These aren’t isolated anti-LGBTQ+ bullying incidents, but are happening at multiple schools across the Commonwealth, he said.
“An uptick in bullying incidents in high school hockey occurring independently across multiple public schools within a short period of time suggests a systemic issue that warrants civil rights attention,” Espinoza-Madrigal added.
LCR urged the Attorney General’s Office to “take immediate steps to combat identity-based bullying, harassment, and exclusion in school sport” and to make sure the MIAA “does not abdicate its responsibility to investigate, remedy, and prevent identity-based harassment in school sports.”
Campbell addressed the claims in the letter in a statement to 12 News, which outlined what her office is already doing to combat discrimination.
“Homophobia and hate of any kind has no place in our locker rooms, ice rinks, or playing fields, and I am committed to ensuring that all young people feel safe and supported in their classrooms and on their sports teams," she said. "My office leads a statewide initiative on addressing hate in schools and sports and takes all reports of bullying, harassment, and discrimination very seriously.”
