The NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB support gay athletes

Brian Burke, President & General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team delivered keynote remarks to members of PFLAG NYC on fighting homophobia and making sports more welcoming of young people who are gay.

The National Hockey League (NHL), National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), MetLife, and JetBlue Airways sponsored the event.

According to Outsports, New York City’s public schools, with 1.1 million students, includes as many as 100,000 young people who may be GLBT and struggling with issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. Extensive research shows that these students are at higher risk to experience academic, health, social, and family-related problems.