Zach Sullivan Becomes World’s First Openly LGBTI+ Professional Ice Hockey Player

Manchester Storm defence player Zach Sullivan has become the first professional ice hockey player to publicly come out as bisexual during his career.

According to Outsports, the 25-year old UK based hockey player made his revelation as his team’s Elite Ice Hockey League held its first-ever Pride weekend, in partnership with You Can Play.

According to reports, Sullivan took to social media ahead of his Sunday game between the Storm and rival team the Dundee Stars telling fans of his sexuality.

“With this being the first-ever EIHL #PrideWeekend I feel now is the best time to speak about what I have known for many years. I have battled with mental health problems over this issue and with the support, understanding and acceptance from my family, friends and teammates, I finally feel ready to say; I’m bisexual. I have never been more proud to wear a jersey before, especially one that celebrates all gender identities and sexualities.”

#PrideWeekend #ICanPlay #YouCanPlay @officialEIHL @Mcr_Storm pic.twitter.com/2FH6AtDZ4f

— Zach Sullivan (@ZachSully11) January 26, 2020

Following Sullivan’s revelation, both fans and players of the Storm as well as from fans and players of other teams both within and outside of the Elite League responded “overwhelmingly” positively, with his Tweet receiving over 6.6K likes and 1.1K retweets, while the Instagram post has over 1700 likes.

Following his social media coming out, Sullivan has since appeared on BBC Manchester, where he told the interviewer that he thinks it’s a journey that everyone has to take at their own pace.

“By no means, just because I’ve done it, do I expect hundreds of other people to do it, that’s not what I’ve done this for,” speaking to BBC.

“If me saying this can help someone else feel better about themselves or move them a little bit further on their journey, then that’s my end target.

“Everyone’s different, but at the end of the day everyone’s still human. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you believe in, or who you fall in love with.

“My suggestion is to just be yourself and take it at your own pace.”

Last Updated on Feb 2, 2020