Andrew Ference, captain of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team, will march in the Edmonton Pride paradeon Saturday. Supporting the LGBT community, he says, is “kind of a no-brainer.”
Also marching in the parade, which heads down 100th St. past Sir Winston Churchill Square, is Jen Scrivens, wife of Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens, and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson.
“Making sure that [LGBT] youth know they have allies at the pro level, or whether it’s a teammate who might be thinking about coming out, or whatever it is, we want to make sure that it’s an accepting environment for everyone,” Ference said Tuesday. “I know most of my teammates and guys around the league line up with the same kind of belief.”
Ference, 35, is the first member of the Oilers to participate in Edmonton Pride, but the NHL has been at the forefront of pro-sports leagues championing LGBT inclusion: Jason Garrison and Manny Malhotra marched in Vancouve Pride when they were both in the Canucks, and retired Canadiens forward Georges Laraque joined the Montreal parade.Calgary Flames president Brian Burke has participated in Toronto Pride in memory of his late son, Brendan, who died in a car crash months after coming out. Brendan’s older brother, Patrick, launched You Can Play, a campaign dedicated to welcoming people of all orientations into sports.
“I think for most [players], especially with You Can Play, [participating in Pride] not a big step for us,” Ference said. “It’s not sticking our nose out to support something that is really out there. It would be rare to find someone that doesn’t support it among our group of players.”
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