“The effort that you go to, to keep your sexuality a secret -the coping mechanisms, the extra effort to ‘fit in’ – to be ‘one of the boys’, the coverups, the non stop lies, the bags under your eyes at every practice due to lack of sleep, the stress and strain on personal relationships and friendships, the sheer exhaustion of ‘acting straight’ so you’d never be found out,” Sullivan wrote. “The overwhelming terror of someone even thinking that you might not be straight. The panic if anyone ever called you ‘gay’ even as a jest or jibe. The day to day actions, language and behaviour that you choose to do, so these things never happen.”
Sullivan closed out his post by sharing that while he believes that Heated Rivalry “will be a net positive for the LGBTQ+ community,” he also “strongly” believes that the show “will not help professional ice hockey players that are struggling with their sexuality (and I genuinely hope I am proven wrong).”
At the very least, the stars of Heated Rivalry have revealed that closeted athletes have DM’d them “somewhat anonymously,” as Hudson Williams discussed in a recent interview. “Sometimes they’re just reaching out privately through Instagram, and those are the ones that really just kind of hit you and go, ‘Oh, so this is a fun show, and it’s celebratory, but also, sometimes it’s just hitting people right in the nerves,’” Williams said.
The show has also led to atleast one hockey player coming out about his sexuality. Jesse Kortuem, an amateur hockey player, came out as gay in a lengthy statement posted to Facebook on January 13, specifically crediting Heated Rivalry with his decision to come out.
Heated Rivalry, a Crave show that airs on HBO Max in the U.S., has been renewed for a second season that is expected out in 2027.
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