Brendan Burke, the late son of Toronto Maple Leafs' general manager Brian Burke, is shown in this undated photo released by Miami (Ohio) University. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Photo/Miami (Ohio) University) ** NO SALES, EDITORIAL USE ONLY **
April 11, 2013 - 9:36 AM
TORONTO - The NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association have partnered with the You Can Play Project, an advocacy organization fighting homophobia in sports.
The You Can Play Project was founded by Philadelphia Flyers scout Patrick Burke in March 2013 in memory Brendan Burke, Patrick's younger brother and the son of former NHL GM Brian Burke.
Brendan Burke, who had revealed his homosexuality to his family in 2007, died in a car accident in 2010 while working as a student manager and video assistant for the men's hockey team at Miami (Ohio) University.
You Can Play will conduct seminars at the NHL's rookie symposium and make its resources and personnel available to each individual team as desired.
The NHL and its players will work with You Can Play to integrate the project into their Behavioral Health Program to enable players to confidentially seek counselling or simply ask questions regarding matters of sexual orientation.
Brian Burke as well as NHL players Tommy Wingels and Andy Miele serve on You Can Play's advisory board.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013