How the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Pride Night took it up a notch for LGBTQ inclusion
It was the little things that helped make the Maple Leafs' Pride Night stand out this season. The post How the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Pride Night took it up a notch for LGBTQ inclusion appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Pride Nights are routine in most pro sports leagues, and the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the usual marks with players putting Pride Tape on their sticks and in-arena ads featuring a rainbow motif. The Leafs, though, added a couple of nice touches that turned it up a notch.
First, there was Leafs forward Easton Cowan conducting a pregame interview wearing a T-shirt with the iconic Maple Leafs logo decked out in Progress Pride colors.
The shirt looks terrific and the questions in the segment were all about his play, not the shirt, which means he wore it not as some statement but to recognize it was Pride Night and that it was the respectful thing to do.
The next nice touch was gay former hockey player Brock McGillis being a part of the festivities, which included him interviewing former Leafs great and Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler, who has championed the Pride Night game. McGillis has become a key part of bringing LGBTQ inclusion to hockey, which earned him a spot on Outsports Rising 50 for 2025.
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Current Leafs players Morgan Rielly and Scott Laughton were also a part of the celebration, as they met with members of the Toronto Gay Hockey Assn. For Rielly, a longtime Maple Leafs player, Pride Nights have become an important part of the season.
“Being in Toronto, getting to live in Canada, work in Canada, be a part of a place that’s as diverse as Toronto is, I think it’s important that you’re a part of it and you embrace Toronto for Toronto and what it is, and the people here,” he said in 2019.
Last, but not least, the team made special Pride Night nameplates to adorn each player’s locker, a cool touch I can’t recall seeing anywhere. It brought home that the organization took the night seriously.
We were harshly critical of the NHL for the way it folded in 2023 over teams wearing rainbow warm-ups because a small number of players complained. The Maple Leafs, at least, continue to try and live up to the motto “hockey is for everyone.”
As a bonus, the Leafs won 3-2 in overtime.
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The post How the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Pride Night took it up a notch for LGBTQ inclusion appeared first on Outsports.
