Conversation Among Allies

As a toddler growing up in Minnesota, Joey Gale skated on frozen ponds, leading to a childhood of organized youth hockey and "a decent amount" of pond hockey, the latter of which is pure yore for any of us who love the sport.

Gale moved to Seattle for an advertising job in 2018, happy to discover the Greater Seattle Hockey League (GSHL) afforded good reason to bring his hockey bag, skates and sticks.

"I have vivid memories growing up of going to the pond with my mom, dad and brother," says Gale during the "Pride Roundtable" presented by Symetra that posted Wednesday and is available for on-demand viewing (also included with this article). "Growing up, there were certain challenges that I faced. In the locker room there's lot of banter, some language that gets used and eventually takes a toll. As a gay guy, I almost felt like an imposter in really masculine sport."

There is honest and insightful perspective throughout the "Pride Roundtable" presented by NHL Seattle first founding partner Symetra and timed to celebrate Pride Month and serve as a starter course for this weekend's virtual events staged by Seattle Pride, Gender Justice League and PrideFest. The roundtable includes members of LGBTQ+ organizations with which NHL Seattle works to promote hockey inclusiveness in our communities. The lineup of Zoom panelists features host Jonas Worth, director of partnerships and development for the You Can Play Project; Steven Thompson, co-founder of the Seattle Pride Hockey Association; Joey Gale, co-founder of the SPHA; Trinity Parker, senior vice president of marketing, communications and public affairs for Symetra; and Kyle Boyd, director of youth and community development for NHL Seattle.

"The focus of our conversation will really be about the Seattle LGBTQ+ community," says Worth. "You Can Play [Project] works in sports spaces, whether NHL or minor league hockey or other sports across North America and the globe. The way we achieve our goal of making spaces safer primarily for the LGBTQ community, whether in the locker room or arenas where hockey is viewed by fans, is we team up with our allies, whether it is a captain of an NHL team or local interested groups. The goal is to create more allies so those organizations can spread the message."

"Allyship is so important," says Parker. "You don't make change without allies. You see that with the LGBT community over a generation ... as more people started to come out, all of sudden people are like, oh, wow, my son or daughter is gay, my neighbor is gay, my colleague is gay. People start to see these are people they care about and love. That's when hearts and minds when it affects you too."

"Anyone on this journey of being an ally, we have to ask ourselves, 'am I still growing as an ally?'" says Worth. "The moment you get comfortable in your journey as an ally or student of this type of work, you've probably lost the puck [lots of Zoom smiles ensue]. You need to be OK with being uncomfortable, asking uncomfortable questions, ceding the space. The key is this is not about you. It is about amplifying those stories and experiences of those who have faced this level of discrimination."

"We are looking at some of our tools and resources to look within and begin our own journey," says Boyd. "When people are able to start a journey and take first steps of learning and empathy, those first steps can be powerful but also can be nervous or intimidating."

The NHL Seattle director of youth and community says the team plans to support youth hockey coaches by teaching "more than x's and o's" in preseason, in-season and playoffs sessions to promote inclusion on all teams and impart life lessons that will last beyond the young players' seasons of play. "We think a lot about how to live this value," says Boyd. "We want to encourage coaches to be leaders [for inclusion] ... We think our NHL players taking up the cause too can make a real difference in our community."

For his part, Thompson recalls going to Seattle Thunderbirds as a child, his dad typically buying tickets along the front-row glass. He fully admits to banging on the glass every time the T-Birds players skated his direction. Thompson says he become deeply invested in the Western Hockey League juniors team and the sport overall during the Thunderbirds' 2016-17 championship season.

"The team inspired me to learn to how to play in November 2017 [first taking power skating lessons]," says Thompson during the Pride Roundtable presented by Symetra. "As a gay man entering a very masculine sport that doesn't see LGBT activity, I was incredibly nervous and didn't know where to start."

Thompson says it took him "months to get over the nervousness." He and Gale met a year later during a GHSL skills clinic. The two players were motivated to ease the way for potential figure LGBTQ+ players in the GSHL and other local leagues. They decided to launch the Seattle Pride Hockey Association, which is getting off the ground this year. You can learn more in the Pride Roundtable discussion.

"We want to be a voice and support system for anybody who wants to play or who knows how to play but doesn't play because they might be scared," says Thompson, a long-time administrator with the nearly 3,000-adult-member Greater Seattle Hockey League.

The SPHA aims to make hockey as inclusive as possible, says Gale: "Who you are and who you love shouldn't be a barrier to play the sport."

Parker explains how Symetra and NHL Seattle have become partners through mutual interests in reaching to new and underrepresented hockey players and fans.

"We started conversations with the NHL about a year-and-a-half go," says Parker. "The energy in this town [for the new NHL franchise] is crazy. People are so excited. We thought, wow, this seems like something we want to be part of. We are incredibly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. We have outspoken views on gender equity and pay equity. Any partnership we enter into, it's going to be with a partner that we have aligned values. It's essential part of how we do business."