Okay, So A TV Show Did What Now?
So, here’s the scoop, and it’s pretty wild if you think about it. Jesse Kortuem, a name you might recognize if you follow hockey even casually, just dropped a bombshell. He’s gay. And the catalyst? Not some grand personal revelation during a solitary mountain hike, or a heart-to-heart with a trusted mentor. Nope. It was “Heated Rivalry,” a show on Crave, HBO Max, whatever. A show about, you guessed it, hockey. And apparently, about queer hockey players.
I mean, come on. A TV show. It sounds almost… too neat, right? Like something out of a feel-good movie script. But Kortuem himself told Out magazine – and you know Out isn’t just making this stuff up – that “many closeted and gay men in the hockey world are being hit hard by Heated Rivalry’s success.” He actually said, and this is the quote that really got me, “Never in my life did I think something so positive and loving could come from such a masculine sport.”
Think about that for a second. “Masculine sport.” That’s not just about hitting pucks and body checks, is it? That’s about an entire culture. A locker room culture. A fan culture. All the unspoken rules and expectations that come with it. It’s heavy. And for a show to come along and just… crack that open? That’s kinda huge. Really huge.
Kortuem, bless his heart, admitted he’d been struggling for weeks to get these emotions out. He was worried about team dynamics, the whole shebang. And you know what? That’s real. That’s the fear talking. Because even in 2024, or whenever this came out, you still worry, right? You worry about how your teammates will look at you, if the fans will turn, if your career trajectory will suddenly veer off course just because you dared to be yourself. It’s messed up, but it’s the reality.
The Facebook Post That Launched a Thousand Cheers
He finally took the leap on Tuesday, January 13, on Facebook. An emotional post, from what I gather. And the response? “Beyond grateful for all the positive comments I’ve received from past teammates and high school teammates.”
See, that’s the good stuff. That’s the human stuff. The fear is real, but so is the potential for acceptance. It’s not always a straight line, it’s not always easy, but when it goes right, it goes really right. And it means the world. It means everything.
So, What’s “Heated Rivalry” Doing Right?
Okay, so I haven’t seen “Heated Rivalry” yet, I’m not gonna lie. It’s now officially on my list. But from what Kortuem is saying, and from the buzz, it’s clearly doing something groundbreaking. It’s not just showing queer characters, it’s showing them in a hockey setting. And that’s the kicker.
Because representation isn’t just about having a character who’s gay. It’s about showing that character living a full life, in various contexts, especially contexts where you might not expect to see them. Like, you know, a locker room. A rink. A professional sports league. It normalizes it. It says, “Hey, we exist here too. We play, we sweat, we win, we lose, and yeah, we’re gay. And it’s fine. It’s just part of who we are.”
“Never in my life did I think something so positive and loving could come from such a masculine sport.” – Jesse Kortuem
That quote? That’s the whole ballgame right there. It tells you exactly how deeply ingrained the idea of sports-as-masculine-and-therefore-heterosexual has been. And how revolutionary it feels for someone to challenge that. Even if it’s just a TV show doing the initial heavy lifting.
The Ripple Effect
This isn’t the first time an athlete has come out, of course. We’ve seen it across different sports, different leagues. But every single time, it’s still a monumental event. It still matters. Because for every Jesse Kortuem who finds the courage, there are probably a hundred, a thousand more, still agonizing in silence. Still wondering if they can truly be themselves and pursue their passion.
And that’s why “Heated Rivalry” is so important. It’s not just entertainment. It’s a mirror. It’s a window. For some, it’s a lifeline. It shows them that there is a place for them. That they’re not alone. That their fears, while valid, might not be as insurmountable as they seem. It gives them a script, almost. A way to imagine their own story unfolding.
I mean, how many times have we heard about the “toxic masculinity” in sports? It’s a real thing, right? The pressure to conform, to be tough, to never show weakness, to fit into a very narrow mold of what a “man” is supposed to be. And then you throw in sexuality, and it just compounds everything. But when you see a show like this, and then you see a real-life athlete like Kortuem step forward, it makes you think maybe, just maybe, that mold is finally cracking. And maybe, just maybe, the culture is actually starting to shift. Slowly. Painfully slowly sometimes. But it’s moving.
What This Actually Means
Look, I’ve been doing this job for a while, and I’ve seen patterns. I’ve seen the slow, grinding pace of social change. And I have to say, this particular story, inspired by a TV show? It’s kind of beautiful. It’s a testament to the power of art, frankly. To create worlds that then inspire people to be truer in their own.
What Jesse Kortuem did here, it’s not just about him. It’s about every kid playing junior hockey right now, every college athlete, every pro who’s still hiding. It’s about telling them, loud and clear, that there’s room for them. That you can be a badass on the ice and be gay. That those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.
And for the rest of us, it’s a reminder. A big, fat, glaring reminder that sometimes the most profound changes start with something as simple as a story. A story told on a screen, that resonates so deeply it helps someone write their own. That’s pretty powerful stuff. And honestly? It gives me hope. A lot of hope.
