Brendan Burke is dead

[paya]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/article/761498--brian-burke-s-son-brendan-killed-in-car-crash?bn=1

 

 

 

 

I think it was Mark Arbour who posted here some time ago an article about Brendan Burke's coming out to his Dad and sort of in the whole NHL industry. There were many hopes that he will become a success story that would give support to other gays hiding in the professional "macho" sports like ice-hockey. Honour his memory.

 

 

[Julian Alexander]

Yep heard this too, I posted an update earlier in the post that Mark opened. Its in the Soapbox. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

[Toast]

I remember the article in soapbox. What a tragic end to such a promising life. My heartfelt condolences.

[Krista]

He seemed liked an extremely intelligent and nice guy... a huge loss for everyone he knew..

[Mark Arbour]

It's news like this can ruin your whole day....week...month....

 

The guy blazed a trail and could have been a real role model for other people in the sport. I hope that his death will only magnify that affect.

[Myr]

How horrible!

My heart goes out to the families.

[wildone]

It's funny how this death has made me think over the past couple of days.

 

I would say that Brian Burke has never been a favourite GM of mine (or when he was the NHL's league disciplinary). When I read the story about his son Brendan coming out to his Dad and the reaction of his Dad to this news, I saw Brian in a new light.

 

I believe the word 'tragedy' maybe gets overused too much, but in this case we had a young courageous man who had connections to the elites of hockey and was making a difference to the way the people in hockey looked at gays. I would say his journey had just started and tragically was ended way too soon for not only his self described mission, but his life as well.

 

I would hope that his father continues on the journey that Brendan had started in whatever ways he finds fit. I'm sure he will surprise many of us.

 

It would also be beneficial to recognize Brendan's efforts to put a face to a cause in hockey by possibly having some kind of award possibly in the future named after him.

 

Maybe I'm hoping for too much. Maybe not enough. It just saddens me that we have lost one of the good guys.

 

Rest in Peace.

Edited February 8, 2010 by wildone

[Mark Arbour]

It's funny how this death has made me think over the past couple of days.

 

I would say that Brian Burke has never been a favourite GM of mine (or when he was the NHL's league disciplinary). When I read the story about his son Brendan coming out to his Dad and the reaction of his Dad to this news, I saw Brian in a new light.

 

I believe the word 'tragedy' maybe gets overused too much, but in this case we had a young courageous man who had connections to the elites of hockey and was making a difference to the way the people in hockey looked at gays. I would say his journey had just started and tragically was ended way too soon for not only his self described mission, but his life as well.

 

I would hope that his father continues on the journey that Brendan had started in whatever ways he finds fit. I'm sure he will surprise many of us.

 

It would also be beneficial to recognize Brendan's efforts to put a face to a cause in hockey by possibly having some kind of award possibly in the future named after him.

 

Maybe I'm hoping for too much. Maybe not enough. It just saddens me that we have lost one of the good guys.

 

Rest in Peace.

 

 

Well said. In my experience, hockey tends to be one of the more homophobic sports, or at least it used to be. Like you, I saw Brendan as the kind of guy who was connected enough to be able to be out, and to show others involved in the sport that it was alright to do so.

 

The last (to my knowledge) even quasi-homosexual rumble from the NHL was the Mike Danton nightmare. The implication was that he was f**king his agent, who had almost complete control over him. I had a vision of a Henry Wilson-Rock Hudson arrangement. It was really twisted, to say the least.

 

I think that's what made Brendan's coming out even more important. Here's a guy from hockey royalty, who seems like a nice guy (or at least isn't a psycho). Someone the other players/coaches/trainers, etc. can look at and say, "hey, he's gay and he seems OK."