dude....two years ago, you might not have heard of a guy called brendan... brendan burke.. son of one brian burke, nhl big wig and general manager of the toronto maple leafs.. hes imposing and impressive... when brian shouts, people listen.. when brendan died, brian cried, and people listened.. theyre still listening...
brendan burke... hes one of my hockey heros.... he came out publicly 15 months ago.... he was the student manager for his d1 college hockey team, the miami of ohio redhawks.. the number one ranked ncaa mens ice hockey team in the nation...
he died just three months later alone, save for his friend mark, on a snowy lonely road in indiana..
i didnt know very much about mark reedy... but i do know this...
he was an 18-year-old bloomfield hills man.. he died along with his friend, brendan, 21, one year ago friday in a car crash.. burke's car slid sideways into the path of another car on a snowy indiana road, killing both of them..
mark reedy graduated from bloomfield hills lahser high school in 2009, where he was a diver, and attended michigan state university.. the top diver in oakland county in 2008-09, he was a champion athlete and twice a state runner-up..
mark reedy graduated from bloomfield hills lahser high school in 2009, where he was a diver, and attended michigan state university.. the top diver in oakland county in 2008-09, he was a champion athlete and twice a state runner-up..
brendan was my hero before he died... he was newly openly gay.. from a proud, old school hockey family, former player, student manager and probable nhl big shot like his dad, or even probable big shot lawyer/politician guy... i was devastated when he died.... i still get a little emotional when i read about him.. or think about his life, see his picture, hear his name....
but - boys. dont. cry. ..
many of us gay athletes, gay hockey players, looked to brendan to bring something new to pro sports for all of us lgbt athletes.. especially in hockey... a safe and welcoming environment in which we could be openly lgbt and play our game with pride and passion as full members of the team...
today is the anniversary of brendans death... and that of his friend mark reedy..
from the toronto sun... http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2011/02/03/17146531.html
brendans older brother patrick has done so much to keep brendans legacy alive and move it forward... my hat is off and my heart goes out to the burke family, to the miami of ohio redhawks, and to everyone that knew, knew of, and remembers brendan everyday.... rest in peace...
“There are a lot of gay athletes out there and gay people working in pro sports that deserve to know that there are safe environments where people are supportive of you regardless of your sexual orientation.”- Brendan Burke
boys. dont. cry.....
~ peace... david
