Luke Prokop, who was selected in the third round by the Nashville Predators in the 2020 NHL draft, on Monday became the first-ever player in the league’s history to come out as gay.
The 19-year-old prospect from Edmonton, Alberta, made the announcement in an Instagram post nearly a month after Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib publicly revealed he was gay, becoming the first active NFL player to do so.
Prokop, a 6-foot-4 defenseman, signed a three-year contract with the Predators in December after playing last season for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League where he struggled with whether to come out publicly, according to ESPN.
He is set to participate in his first NHL training camp this fall.
“I was lying in bed one night, had just deleted a dating app for the fourth or fifth time, and I was extremely frustrated because I couldn’t be my true authentic self,” Prokop said, according to the network. “In that moment I said, ‘Enough is enough. I’m accepting who I am. I want to live the way I want to, and I want to accept myself as a gay man.’”
Over the past year, Prokop said he told family members and teammates that he is gay, and then in June he told his bosses in the Predators front office, who immediately expressed support.
Prokop told ESPN that “tears just started coming from my eyes” after sharing the news with the team’s assistant general manager Brian Poile, who “showed me a lot of support and told me the Predators are behind me 1,000% and want what’s best for me and that they’re proud of me,” he told the network.
On Monday Predators president and CEO Sean Henry released a statement saying the “organization is proud of Luke for the courage he is displaying in coming out today and we will support him unequivocally in the days, weeks, and years to come as he continues to develop as a prospect.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also reached out to him recently and to offer his support, ESPN reports.
Prokop was inspired by the positive reaction to Nassib’s revelation on June 21, but said he had reached his own decision as a way to clear his conscious and validate his true identity.
“From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player, and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams,” he wrote. “I hope that in sharing who I am I can help other people see that gay people are welcome in the hockey community, as we work to make sure that hockey is truly for everyone.”
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