The NHL is the only men’s pro league to never have a current or former player come out publicly as being gay, and hockey culture is notoriously homophobic. Luke Prokop is the only player with a team contract who’s come out as gay, yet he’s never played a league game in his career. Reid actually originally began writing her series out of the anger she felt toward the culture, as well as “all the other things that made [her] really ashamed to be a hockey fan.”