Toronto Maple Leafs: The Importance of Pride Appearance

A pair of important figureheads of the Toronto Maple Leafs made a big splash by marching in the Toronto Pride parade this past weekend.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have shown huge support to the LGBT community in recent years. This past Sunday, general manager Kyle Dubas and defenceman Morgan Rielly walked in the Toronto Pride Parade, in a joint effort with the You Can Play organization as well as the Toronto Argos CFL football team.

This comes only months after a controversy over a misheard comment on ice that sent Rielly into hot water with fans and the press.

After being overwhelmingly proven not guilty, Rielly has reiterated that he has long been a loud and proud supporter of the LGBT community. Dubas’ participation is not a large surprise either, as he has been known to march in the parade in past years, as well.

Rielly was even spotted wearing a new pair of running shoes with a fancy rainbow stripe up them to the event – a gift from a sponsor for the parade – and something he plans on wearing again in the future. The rest of the group was sporting fun rainbow Maple Leafs or Hockey Is For Everyone t-shirts and carrying sticks covered in Pride tape.

Kurtis Gabriel, a forward for the New Jersey Devils was also a participant in Toronto’s pride and was seen with the Toronto group. Gabriel, hailing from New Market with the cause being close to his heart given his friends in the lgbtq+ community, was an important attendee. The player had shown his support in the regular season during New Jersey’s You Can Play Night – after practice, most players remove the Pride Tape for regular hockey tape, while Gabriel played the full game with it on – something that was noticed and appreciated.

There has been an argument, I’ve noticed, that inclusion and acknowledgement of the LGBTQ+ community means making a sport political, and that sports shouldn’t be a place for political agendas.

The idea that supporting and showing up for people who make up a large subsection of fans is anything at all political is, frankly, ludicrous. Organizations’ involvement in nights like You Can Play and teams marching in pride are all things that are relatively new but well overdue.

This is something that makes queer fans, like myself, feel safe and validated in a community we all pour so much into. In a community such as hockey that hasn’t necessarily welcomed anything besides your standard heterosexual male for a long time, this gives fans the representation they deserve.

Involvement in things like pride parades and Hockey Is For Everyone nights sets a new tone of acceptance in an environment where bullying, toxic masculinity, and homophobia take a forefront. It shows queer players, friends of players, fans, and the whole community that it’s okay, that there’s a place for them in the hockey world after all.

That, truly, hockey is for everyone.

As Pride Month 2019 closes out, it’s important to note that this energy shouldn’t only exist in the month of June. Inclusivity and support matter year round; it’s appreciated no matter how big or small- whether it’s more consistent participation in events like You Can Play nights and Pride, or rainbow striped sneakers into the rink.

A little goes a long way.

Through the official NHL website, you can find when teams will be and have been participating in their local pride events, as well as the Toronto Maple Leafs Pride tee that was being worn!

Thanks for reading!