The popularity of “Heated Rivalry,” which tells the story of multiple NHL players who are closeted, has led one real-life hockey player to come out as gay.
The main romance in “Heated Rivalry,” streaming on HBO Max, follows rival players Ilya (Connor Storrie) and Shane (Hudson Williams) and their secret relationship that spans multiple years. But one episode centers around the storyline between another closeted player named Scott Hunter (François Arnaud), who falls for an employee he meets at a smoothie shop named Kip (Robbie G.K.).
At the end of Episode 5, Scott decides to publicly come out and invites Kip onto the ice to celebrate with him after his team wins the Stanley Cup. Scott and Kip share a passionate kiss and the hockey star later expresses his love for Kip while accepting an award.
After seeing the show and being inspired by the storylines, hockey player Jesse Kortuem decided to publicly come out.
In a statement posted on Facebook Jan. 13, Kortuem wrote that the sounds heard in a hockey arena used to represent “the sound of a place where I felt I had to hide.”
The athlete, who recently participated in the Cutting Edges Hockey Club’s Winter Classic event, added, “I am a private person. Those who know me best know that I don’t share much if anything publicly on social media, but lately, something has sparked in me (ok — yes credit to #HeatedRivalry). I realized it is finally time to share a journey I have kept close to the vest for a long time.”
Kortuem said he grew up in Minnesota as the youngest of four boys.
“As a young teenager, I carried a weight that did not seem to fit into that world, and I lived in a constant state of dichotomy. I loved the game, but I lived with a persistent fear,” he shared. “I wondered how I could be gay and still play such a tough and masculine sport.”
He said his younger self never thought that coming out was possible as a professional hockey player. “Coming out in the 2000s did not feel like an option, especially with so little positive representation in the media at the time and it would have been a social disaster at such a large high school. At 17, I walked away from the high school team and the brotherhood of hockey friendships I had developed from a young age for a myriad of reasons,” he explained.
After stepping away, he returned to hockey and played “at a high level” in New York and Atlanta. He said people in his life knew he was gay, but he didn’t speak about his sexuality with his teammates.
“On the outside, I was still a top-tier player. On the inside, I was still that kid in Minnesota hiding,” he recalled. “Like many closeted athletes, revealing who I truly was to my team would change everything in an instant, their opinion of me, could bring negative attention to the team with the ‘gay player’, so I never took the chance.”
He remembered changing the subject if the other players mentioned their wives, and he always told them he was single. But he “reached a breaking point in 2017” after he signed up to play in a gay sporting event.
“This tournament would prove to be a paradigm shift. I met a group of guys from across the US and Canada (Las Vegas Boyz) who were hockey players like me and were also gay,” Kortuem said. “From that moment forward, my life has never been the same. It has been a long, vulnerable road to move past the closeted athlete persona (something I’m still working on today) and find actual peace through the friendships I have developed through hockey in Vancouver (Cutting Edges), Toronto (Misfits), and across the US.”
He said during his most recent event with the Cutting Edges Hockey Club, he finally felt “peace” on the rink.
Kortuem ended his post with an uplifting message to other closeted athletes.
“This is my story. It is not everyone’s story, but for what it is worth, I thought I would share because I want to speak to the athletes out there who are still in the closet or struggling to find their way. I want you to know that there is hope and you’re not alone. There is a life and a deep happiness waiting for you on your path. You will get through this, and it is going to be okay,” he said.
According to Out, Kortuem never played in the NHL, however, he did play defenseman and center in multiple other leagues.
“I know many closeted and gay men in the hockey world are being hit hard by ‘Heated Rivalry’’s success,” Kortuem said when speaking to Out about how he personally connected to the show. “Never in my life did I think something so positive and loving could come from such a masculine sport. I’ve struggled the last few weeks to put these emotions into words, fearing the impact on team dynamics, etc.”
He continued, “Today, I took the step to finally tell my hockey journey and my story. I’m beyond grateful for all the positive comments I’ve received from past teammates and high school teammates.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
