In the world of sports, vulnerability is rare. Inviting the public eye into a player's personal life is no easy feat,especially so in a career which requires fastidious defense on – and often off –the playing field. Yet, 19 year-old Nashville Predators prospect player LukeProkop defied the odds last month by coming out as the first openly gay playersigned to a National Hockey League (NHL) team. The Edmonton-native signed athree-year, entry-level contract with Nashville on December 9th, making him thefirst openly gay player under contract in the league. After playing the pastfour seasons with Calgary of the Western Hockey League (in which Prokop scoredsix points in 15 games), the move made history, as support pours in from manycorners of the NHL. Commissioner Gary Bettman responded[https://www.nhl.com/news/nashville-prospect-luke-prokop-comes-out-as-gay/c-325686490] to Prokop's announcement this week:> "People, unless they can be their authentic true selves, can't be the best theycan be. Anybody who is connected to the NHL, whether it's front office, whetherit's coaching and player development, whether it's players, we want everybody toknow that whoever you are, you have a place in our family."Photo credit: Marissa Baecker/Getty ImagesProkop's move comes at a time ofincreased visibility within the world of sports. On July 23, the openingceremony of the Olympics will feature at least 163 out players[https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2021/7/12/22565574/tokyo-summer-olympics-lgbtq-gay-athletes-list], a number that has doubled since 2016's Rio events. And, just last month, NFLplayer Carl Nassib became the first active player in the league to come out asgay. Both Prokop and Nassib made the announcement over Instagram, a testament tothe power of social media platforms as a tool for visibility. While both players continue to reap thousands of comments of support andwell-wishes, other actively out athletes have lived a different story. MichaelSam, for one, made history as the first drafted NFL athlete to come out in 2014.Yet, Sam's experience as a trailblazer for the community wasn't whollyencouraged. The St. Louis Rams draft-pick faced backlash on Twitter, as well asinappropriately pointed questions about his sexuality during interviews andother public events. Ultimately, too, Sam did not make the final cut[https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/11431047/michael-sam-cut-st-louis-rams] forthe St. Louis Rams.Michael Sam after being drafted in 2014. Photo credit: Jeff Roberson/AP.Foropenly gay or queer athletes, such is the reality. Social support, whilewidespread and encouraging, can often fall short in the professional sphere.Players such as Sam – and even his predecessor, David Kopay[https://www.npr.org/2021/06/22/1009180945/carl-nassibs-experience-coming-out-is-very-different-from-nfl-players-before-him], who came out years after retiring as an NFL athlete – understand thatoftentimes, their strides to encourage proud expressions of gender identity arethose which pave the path for change within their sport. Until then, we canthank athletes like Prokop and Nassib for their bravery along the way. Read LukeProkop's coming out remarks here[https://twitter.com/lukeprokop_6?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor]. > ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 pic.twitter.com/7zqT0A2gJj [https://t.co/7zqT0A2gJj]— luke prokop (@lukeprokop_6) July 19, 2021[https://twitter.com/lukeprokop_6/status/1417114803118563332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]
