Do LGBT Pride Games Stop Homophobic Language in Sport?

Ice hockey, as a sport, has received praise for its efforts to promote the inclusion of gay and bisexual men, and more recently, lesbian and bisexual women and transgender people (Heraux 2019). For example, the National Hockey League (NHL) was the first professional league to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in its collective bargaining agreement with male players (Mortazavi 2017). The sport also pioneered the ‘pride game’ concept (also sometimes called pride nights), which are regularly scheduled, rainbow-themed games held to promote the inclusion of LGBT people in sport. Despite these efforts, the lack of openly gay male professional hockey players and evidence that homophobic language remains common in the sport suggests approaches being used may need to be reconsidered. This chapter examines whether pride games, which have been adopted globally, are an effective way to drive change.