When the Bowdoin community welcomes Brian Burke, the president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, to campus today as part of the "Anything But Straight in Athletics" (ABSA) series, attendees will acknowledge one of the most dynamic personalities in the National Hockey League, but also one of the most powerful agents of change in fighting homophobia in athletics.
As a representative of the notoriously macho culture of professional hockey, Burke seems an unlikely gay advocate, but his tenacity in confronting homophobia in the sport has been unrivaled.
"My goal is to throw the weight of an NHL front office at the issue," wrote Burke in an email to the Orient. "This bias needs to disappear, and I think pro leagues and teams can add useful muscle to this issue."
Burke has pushed for greater acceptance of homosexuality in a league that, while showing progress, has remained less accepting of social differences.
"I really believe that this age group [of NHL players] is not homophobic," he wrote. "I believe a gay player in the NHL would be amazed at the support he would receive, and will one day...hopefully soon."
The father of Molly Burke '13, Brian Burke has been inspired by the bravery of his son Brendan, who became a pioneer in the world of professional sports world when he came out publicly in 2009. As the son of an important figure in the NHL, Brendan was the closest the NHL came to having a publicly gay figure. When Brendan died suddenly in a car accident in February of last year, his father sensed a need to carry on his son's mission to promote tolerance and end homophobic language in hockey.
One of the reasons that Burke has been so successful in his efforts to confront homophobia is the immense amount of respect he has earned from peers, players and fans. Hockey has long been an integral part of Burke's life. He captained the Providence College hockey team and earned a reputation as a tough player who worked hard and stood up to anyone on the ice. After a brief stint in the AHL, he left the ice in search of a different way to get involved in the sport he loved.
He graduated from Harvard Law School and has since managed the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, a team that he led to a 2007 Stanley Cup. He was also the general manager for the 2010 U.S. Olympic hockey team that lost to Canada in overtime in the gold medal game. He is currently the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Widely recognized for his general gruffness and resiliency, he can be an intimidating figure; a 2010 article in GQ Magazine described him as "a fists-up, knock-your-teeth-out gladiator."
"By personality, position and reputation he is incredibly respected in the athletics world, and there are a lot of students interested in hearing him talk about anything," said Director of Athletics Jeff Ward.
Men's tennis coach Colin Joyner '03, who played a significant role in bringing Burke to campus, commented on the uniqueness of his efforts.
"[Burke] is speaking from a very macho, ultra-masculine arena of hockey," said Joyner. "He is a very unlikely character in the world of advocacy for anti-homophobic measures."
In addition to his status, Ward mentioned that Burke's "strong convictions" about ending homophobia made him an ideal candidate to be the keynote speaker at today's ABSA event. Burke has also known Terry Meagher, the men's hockey coach, for many years.
Burke will participate in several different events during his time on campus. He will meet with coaches over lunch, attend a dinner banquet with athletes, give a public lecture, and attend a reception with the men's hockey team.
Ward expressed his hope that the events could reach out to different audiences on campus and inspire healthy dialogue between all members of the Bowdoin community.
Ben Chadwick '11, an openly gay member of the men's lacrosse team who helped organize the ABSA event, commented on what it meant to have Burke on campus discussing homophobia and athletics.
"It's very easy to talk about these things in the 'Bowdoin bubble' because we are a very open-minded college and it's a pretty accepting environment," he said. "But what Burke does is bring an outside perspective from the NHL, [from the] very macro level."
Burke's trip to campus will be the second annual ABSA event. Last year, ESPN writer LZ Granderson came to campus and gave a talk entitled, "Men, Manhood and Mayhem: The Real Reasons Behind Homophobia in Sports." As a gay man himself, Granderson addressed the way that men felt threatened by having gay members on their sports teams. Openly gay photographer Jeff Sheng also exhibited works that highlighted the athletics prowess of LGBT athletes.
Joyner mentioned that last year's events, which were partially organized by Branden Asemah '12, were especially important in helping to show younger Bowdoin athletes the need for the support of gay athletes during their collegiate careers.
In 2009, Joyner co-founded ABSA with Director of the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity Kate Stern, who is currently on maternity leave. The founding of the group partially stemmed from a realization of the important social role that athletics has on campus, and therefore the need for a specific group to foster the substantial LBGT athletic community.
"We started the group so that out student-athletes and questioning student-athletes could have a safe space that was not publicized," said Joyner. "We could come together and discuss what it was like to be LBGT and an athlete at Bowdoin."
In addition to Ward, Joyner and Chadwick, Interim Director of the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity Cathy Kidman was instrumental in organzing the ABSA event.
"The purpose of ABSA is to create inclusion on teams...and to inspire individual athletes to understand their impact and responsibilities on their teams and the community at large," she said.
Starting last year, ABSA sponsored regular discussions with openly gay athletes. Chadwick, who came out publicly in his sophomore year, spoke about the group.
"I remember what it was like to be that closet athlete," he said. "The dialogue that has been opened is huge."
While there is still much work to be done, Ward made it clear that his end goal of eliminating homophobic language and action among Bowdoin athletes could improve team dynamics.
"People perform better when they feel safer and happier," Ward said.
Burke's work helping gay athletes and confronting homophobia in sports, both on and off the ice, speaks for itself.
Burke's keynote address will be held tonight in Kresge Auditorium at 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.