\u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d star Hudson Williams says he\u2019s received anonymous messages from closeted professional athletes, including hockey players, in the wake of the show\u2019s recent success.<\/p>\n
\u201cHockey players, football players, basketball players,\u201d Williams told Andy Cohen in an interview on Sirius XM Radio that aired Thursday. \u201cThey\u2019re reaching out to (author Rachel Reid), who will then relay these lovely, anonymous emails. Sometimes they\u2019re just reaching out privately through Instagram. Those ones are the ones that really just kind of hit you and go \u2018Oh, this is a fun show. It\u2019s celebratory.\u2019 But also, sometimes, it\u2019s just hitting people right in the nerve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hudson Williams has been scoring some meaningful private messages.\u2764\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/R7jsrqCDcF<\/a> (\ud83c\udfa5: Radio Andy \/ SiriusXM) pic.twitter.com\/JaYkBiKjWq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 E! News (@enews) January 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Williams plays Shane Hollander, a closeted star hockey player who strikes up a romance with rival hockey player Ilya Rozanov in \u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d available on HBO Max in the United States and on Crave in Canada. The show is based on the book series \u201cGame Changers,\u201d written by Halifax writer Rachel Reid; Montreal writer and director Jacob Tierney adapted it for television. The show is now Crave\u2019s most successful original debut series of all time<\/a>, and it has already been renewed for a second season. Two of the series\u2019 episodes are ranked among IMDb\u2019s highest-rated television episodes of all time.<\/p>\n There has never been an openly gay active player in the NHL\u2019s history. Defenseman Luke Prokop, who currently plays for the AHL\u2019s Bakersfield Condors, was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft before coming out publicly in July 2021. The NHL does, however, have an openly gay player agent in Bayne Pettinger.<\/p>\n Days earlier, Williams\u2019 co-star, Fran\u00e7ois Arnaud, told Variety<\/a> that he was surprised to hear hockey players were watching the show and that the \u201cfailing NHL\u201d was using the show as a way to attract more fans.<\/p>\n \u201cI just hope that it brings on actual change in the league and that it has a real influence on how they treat their own players and the possibility of that,\u201d Arnaud said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s not, historically, the most open association.\u201d<\/p>\n