CBC-Sports

Standing up against hatred

November 27, 2009 01:00 PM | Posted by   Kelly Hrudey  

This week John Buccigross from ESPN wrote an incredible article about Brian Burke and his son Brendan.

Brendan is gay and told his family of his sexual orientation a couple of years ago, but until recently few people knew of this.

Nobody was surprised by Brian’s reaction, the same love and support for his son as always.

I do believe Brian though, when he suggested Brendan and his family may receive some negative reaction from a certain segment of society.

How do I know this you might ask?

My story goes like this. A couple of years ago a movie was released called Breakfast with Scot about a retired gay hockey player turned sportscaster (Eric) and his partner (Sam) and their relationship when they find out Sam’s very flamboyant stepson is going to be living with them.

I was asked to review the movie prior to its release and then critique the movie on Jian Ghomeshi’s CBC radio program, Q.

I found the movie to be moving, inspirational, as well as funny.

I even remember comparing it to one of my all-time favourites, Kramer vs. Kramer.

Later that weekend on Hockey Night in Canada, during our segment called Behind the Mask, Scott Oake and I discussed the movie, I think we even showed a clip and I spoke highly of the show for many reasons, including the message.

In hindsight I was naïve. The reaction from a small percentage of viewers surprised me. They were pissed. For a few weeks I was a target for a number of fanatical groups and individuals who are completely against a gay lifestyle.

I was made aware that the CBC received a number of emails expressing their displeasure with me and there was one in particular, shown to me by our Vancouver producer Tim Davis, that actually kind of scared me.

I was caught off guard by the hatred shown toward my belief that we’re all the same.

I hate to say this, but now that people are aware of Brendan, the Burke family may also be the target of a small minority of zealots. I think it’s important we ensure the Burke’s - and other families like theirs - understand they have our full support.

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