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***sköldpaddor*** · 05-17-2023, 03:13 PM

Hello SHL!

Today is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (you can learn more about that here). We wanted to take this as an opportunity to throw a public, positive message of support out to our entire LGBTQIA+ community here in the SHL.

We know that real hockey, and real sports in general, are not always the most welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ people. A lot of pro sports teams will put together one or two highly commercialized and merchandised events per season (if that), and a lot of the time it feels like it's not really about queer people themselves as much as it's about selling rainbow merch. And then, when there's pushback as there's been recently, sometimes people aren't even willing to do that bare minimum. A team will have one pride night (and maybe not even that), just to get a lot of worn out "when is straight pride night?" comments from people who have missed the point entirely.

We have had to fight a lot just for the minimal level of inclusion that we have now in sports spaces, and there is still an incredibly long way to go. And it's hard to love something that often feels like it not only doesn't love you back, but actively wants to push you away and make you feel unimportant. It's hard to love something when you're frequently told "I don't care what you are just don't make me look at it or acknowledge it here.”

So here's a little shoutout from our leadership group here in this little niche corner of the internet sports world, just to say we see you, and we love you because of who you are, not in spite of it. We are committed to doing everything we can to make our little space here the safest, most welcoming place it can be to people who have to put up with that kind of prejudice in other sports spaces. Homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia have no place in the SHL and will never be welcome here.

Progress doesn't happen unless we fight for it, and it's not easy, but our community has come a long way in the past few years, and we are excited to continue that work alongside you all.

On behalf of SHL and SMJHL Head Office,
-Jess & @ACapitalChicago