Heated Rivalry prompts Sask. man to recount coming out to college hockey teammates

Brock Weston, a Saskatchewan native and medical resident, says the show Heated Rivalry reminded him of coming out to his college hockey teammates, an event he says ended with support from the team; the series has become a popular Crave debut and was renewed for a second season.

Brock Weston, a 30-year-old University of Saskatchewan graduate now doing a family medicine residency in Calgary, says the TV series Heated Rivalry echoed his own college experience. Weston grew up near Maidstone, Sask., and played hockey before being recruited to Marian University in Wisconsin. In his junior year he was dating a man and kept it private from the team except his roommate. After rumours and subtle digs in 2019 he called a team meeting, came out to his teammates and says he was met with support. Key points: - Brock Weston played college hockey for Marian University and said he came out to his teammates in April 2019. - He told CBC his teammates embraced him and that he later married the man he was dating at the time. - Heated Rivalry is adapted from Rachel Reid's Game Changers series and became Crave's most-watched original series debut before being renewed for a second season. - Hockey Saskatchewan culture and inclusion manager Faye Matt said the organisation runs initiatives on diversity and provides education for coaches and referees. - Actor François Arnaud has urged the NHL to show more substantive support for diversity rather than using it mainly for marketing. Summary: The account connects one athlete's coming-out experience to wider visibility created by a popular TV show. Weston and others say Heated Rivalry has helped spark conversations about queer representation in hockey while also highlighting gaps in support. The series' renewal signals continued mainstream attention. Whether that attention will translate into sustained change in hockey culture is undetermined at this time.