A 9-year-old hockey fan called this gay former player his hero, and mom confirmed

Last December, gay former youth hockey player Matt Kenny found himself literally shaking on the floor after the first episode of “Heated Rivalry” brought up a torrent of emotions from his past that he hadn’t processed in years.

Less than three months later during an appearance at the NHL Pride Cup, he found out he is the hero of a 9-year-old hockey fan.

Suffice it to say, Kenny has had a remarkable journey.

After “Heated Rivalry” led to his near-breakdown on Christmas Eve, Kenny decided to share his story publicly.

As he wrote on Outsports, during Kenny’s time in youth hockey, he had lived something of a real-life “Heated Rivalry,” building a discreet relationship with another player while keeping his secret buried deep in the closet in every other aspect of his life.

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“For nearly a year, we lived in the shadows. Careful. Quiet softness meeting fear and the unknown. Trying to love in stolen moments, in the spaces between breaths, when the world looked away, not wanting to see us,” he remembered.

Unlike the show, Kenny’s relationship ended abruptly and painfully. It was so jarring that he stepped away from hockey entirely.

But after his emotional reaction to “Heated Rivalry,” Kenny decided to get involved in the sport  again and advocate for other gay players facing the same pressures and pain that he experienced.

In this capacity, Kenny made his first appearance at the Pride Cup. As reported by Out Magazine’s Dawn Ennis, during the tournament, a nine year old boy recognized Kenny from his social media presence and asked to take a picture with him.

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A post shared by Matt Kenny (@matt__runs)

“I talk all the time about how I’m doing this work for the next generation but yesterday was the first time I actually looked into the eyes of that next generation,” Kenny recounted in an Instagram post, “And it hit me: this is no longer just an idea, this isn’t about saying the right things. This was about getting into the mind of a kid who felt something. Connection or recognition or maybe even possibility.”

Naturally, Kenny was honored by the kid’s request, especially considering that he was in the same room with former NHL players and Stanley Cup champions.

But the best moment was yet to come. After the encounter, Kenny received a message from the boy’s mother saying that her son had told her that Kenny was his hero and that this was the best day he’d had in a long time.

Visibly moved and briefly unable to speak with emotion, Kenny admitted that he’s still in the process of rebuilding himself and finding his place in the sport.

“I guess maybe what this is is it’s about us being fearless and visible and accountable. That it’s about a kid seeing someone who loves the same thing he does trying to stand fully in himself and realizing that the different parts of him don’t have to cancel each other out for him to belong,” he said.

Kenny also expressed a desire to take the ice when he returns to the Pride Cup next year, partly to continue reconnecting with the sport of hockey but also in recognition of the impact of his story.

As he summed up the experience, “Yesterday for the first time, I didn’t just feel responsibility. I felt actual hope.”

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The post A 9-year-old hockey fan called this gay former player his hero, and mom confirmed appeared first on Outsports.