‘I Hate To Be Negative’: The First Openly Gay Hockey Player Has A Hot Take About Heated Rivalry

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HBO’s new show, Heated Rivalry, quickly became a major conversation starter. The series, based on a popular book, gained a lot of attention online for its intimate scenes and its story about a secret, long-term relationship between queer hockey players. Brock McGillis, the first openly gay professional hockey player, recently shared his thoughts on the show, explaining why he believes it won’t necessarily inspire other athletes to come out publicly.

I was happy to see Heated Rivalry offer LGBTQ+ representation with its steamy content, and it’s definitely been getting attention for its intimate scenes. While Sean Avery, a former hockey player, hoped the show would encourage closeted athletes to come out, actor Luc McGillis doesn’t share that view. He recently explained his perspective in an interview with Pink News, stating:

I worry this might not be well-received by hockey fans. I like the show, but I don’t think it will appeal to many traditional hockey viewers, and even if they do watch, I doubt their reaction will be positive.

He was definitely straightforward. It seems he’s worried the hockey world won’t appreciate how things are shown in Heated Rivalry. He also believes it could prevent players from being themselves on the ice, particularly if fans see the show and don’t like what they see.

You can start watching “Heated Rivalry” on HBO Max with a subscription starting at $10.99 per month. This basic plan includes ads and gives you access to a large library of movies, shows, documentaries, and more. See the deal here.

As a huge fan of documentaries, I was really interested in what Brooke McGillis had to say about Heated Rivalry getting a second season. He seems a little conflicted – he’s glad the HBO series is continuing, but he doesn’t necessarily believe it’ll actually fix things in the hockey world. Honestly, it makes sense. As a former player and someone from Canada, he’s seen the inside of the sport firsthand, and he wasn’t holding back with his opinions. He went on to explain…

Nobody’s like, ‘Oh, yeah. This came out and now I’m ready [to come out].’ It’s not happening.

There’s been a long conversation about how important it is to see LGBTQ+ people represented in TV and movies. While the show Heated Rivalry might help some viewers feel understood, analyst McGillis doesn’t think we’ll see many more professional hockey players coming out as LGBTQ+ anytime soon. He believes that locker room environments can still be unwelcoming, and that’s likely preventing players from feeling safe enough to come out.

Brock McGillis also enjoys the show and has been deeply touched by it. He especially connected with the story of Shane and Ilya, as their secret relationship mirrored his own experience coming out. He explained that:

The first episode was incredibly stressful and frightening for me. I was in a three-year relationship that I kept completely secret from everyone. My boyfriend even used a fake name for me in his phone, just in case his friends ever looked at it.

Wow, the show really nailed the details of this secret relationship. It seems the creator drew from personal experience – McGillis apparently went through something similar, even using a fake name in his phone to protect a connection. Thankfully, he was able to be honest with himself and live openly in the end.

The new series Heated Rivalry premieres on HBO Max on Fridays as part of the 2025 television lineup. It remains to be seen if comments made by McGillis regarding hockey players publicly identifying as LGBTQ+ will prove accurate.

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2025-12-16 21:39