First openly gay hockey pro claims ‘Heated Rivalry’ will cause players to stay in the closet
Brock McGillis—often cited as the first openly gay pro‑hockey player—has a low opinion of the new series “Heated Rivalry.”
The 42‑year‑old, who retired from the NHL, told PinkNews that the steamy show, which pits two rival professional hockey stars against each other and follows their secret gay romance, won’t help anyone decide to come out.
McGillis said, “Nobody’s like, ‘Oh, yeah. This came out and now I’m ready [to come out].’ It’s not happening.” He added that the drama could actually backfire and hurt the conversation around coming out.
“I hate to sound negative when I really enjoy the show,” he continued. “But I doubt many hockey bros will watch it, and if they do, I don’t think the conversation will be positive.”
He explained that the first episode—adapted from Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” novel series—triggered a panic attack for him. “I was scared. I dated a guy for three years, and not a soul in my life knew about it,” he shared. “We had an alias for me on his phone in case his friends ever saw.”
McGillis remarks that, while he thinks players are generally good people, he would not let his own children—whether gay or straight—play the sport. “The language, behaviors, and attitudes in locker rooms can be homophobic from a very young age and carry through a lifetime,” he said. “You’re primed to believe everyone will hate you and you’ll lose your career.”
He warned that many folks fail to see the weight of their words. “Sometimes I don’t think people realize the impact what they’re saying. Hearing that daily feels like death by 1,000 paper cuts.”
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the stars of “Heated Rivalry,” have spoken about their hope that the series will benefit LGBTQ+ viewers.
Williams, 24, told Forbes: “There’s both the representation of a queer character that a lot of people relate to, whether they feel like him or like they’ve known him… that element is really beautiful. I didn’t know if it would connect. You only hope, and it is on a person‑to‑person level, where they’re looking you in the eye and that means something.”
Storrie shared a close‑up fan experience he had at a Toronto bookstore: “In theory, it’s really easy to talk about the importance of representation, but it was such a crazy in‑person moment seeing someone say, ‘What you’re doing, and the person you’re being on‑camera means so much to me,’ with tears in their eyes.”
New episodes of “Heated Rivalry” stream on HBO Max every Friday.
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