More than two years after Luke Prokop became the first player with a contract in the National Hockey League (NHL) to publicly reveal his homosexuality, Luke Prokop has no regrets.
This Friday, the Nashville Predators prospect will play his first career game in the American League. The 21-year-old was drafted by the Milwaukee Admirals after beginning his first year as a professional in the ECHL.
• Also read: Two years after coming out as gay, he feels ready for the NHL
In an interview with website journalist Joe Smith of The Athletic, Prokop returned to the reasons behind his decision to speak openly about his sexual orientation.
“I am a realistic person. I know hockey won’t be forever. So much [quand j’ai fait mon annonce] “As much as I would have liked to continue playing, I was okay with not playing anymore if it didn’t work out, just to be able to live my life the way I wanted, to be myself,” Prokop said.
“But now I don’t want to stop playing. It was really disturbing. We didn’t know what the reaction would be in the hockey world and beyond because no one had done it before. I took some risks and hoped for the best. It was much more positive than I imagined.”
“I didn’t expect so much support from NHL players. It was really good.”
Respect
Since his announcement, Prokop has played for five different teams and has never faced discrimination from his teammates.
“I just think the guys don’t really care,” he said. They may be nervous because they imagine a stereotypical version of a gay man and his behavior. When I come into a team, they might think that I act a certain way, that I look a certain way, but three minutes after talking to me they realize that’s not me.
“Hockey is a part of me. This is who I am. The boys completely forget about it [que je suis gai] when I’m at the ice rink. They are not afraid to ask questions. But other than that we don’t really talk about it. That’s how I wanted it. I wanted them to know, but I never wanted to be a distraction.”