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Brock McGillis<\/strong><\/a> is opening up about Heated Rivalry<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The 42-year-old athlete, who made history after coming out publicly in 2016 after he retired, addressed the steamy Crave\/HBO Max<\/strong><\/a> series, which centers around two hockey players Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie<\/strong><\/a>) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams<\/strong><\/a>) having a secret romance.<\/p>\n Keep reading to find out more\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEpisode one gave me a panic attack,\u201d he said, via Pink News<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI was scared. I dated a guy for three years, not a soul in my life knowing. We had an alias for [me in his phone] in case [his friends] ever saw.\u201d<\/p>\n He also spoke about the culture of hockey.<\/p>\n \u201cThe language, behaviours, and attitudes that you get in locker rooms are sometimes homophobic \u2013 that starts at a very young age and progresses through your whole life. You\u2019re programmed to feel that everyone will hate you and you\u2019ll lose your career,\u201d he went on to say.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I don\u2019t think people recognise what they\u2019re saying or the impact it has. But if you\u2019re hearing that daily, it\u2019s death by 1,000 paper cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n Former hockey pro Sean Avery<\/strong> previously said that<\/a> the show could help open the doors for players to come out, but Brock<\/strong> disagrees \u201cwholeheartedly\u201d with the sentiment.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just [Avery<\/strong>] trying to get press,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might help the people around [players] understand a little more if they\u2019re dating somebody; hopefully,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, yeah. This came out and now I\u2019m ready [to come out].\u2019 It\u2019s not happening,\u201d Brock<\/strong> said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably more likely to have an adverse effect on a player coming out. And I hate to be negative because I really enjoy the show. But I also don\u2019t believe that many hockey bros are going to watch it. And I don\u2019t think, if they are watching it, they\u2019re talking about it positively.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, Brock<\/strong> believes hockey player are \u201creally good people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf a player did come out, hockey players would be the most likely to rally around their teammate more than any of the other big sports,\u201d he went on to say.<\/p>\n Instead, he points to his Shiftmakers tour<\/a>, which has visited roughly 150 junior and youth hockey teams across North America, as something that can actually create a safe space for players.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say I\u2019ve had over 200 hockey players in the last six weeks disclose that they\u2019ve experienced some form of self-harm, suicidal ideation. I\u2019ve had 15 to 20 players disclose they\u2019ve been sexually assaulted. I would say over 1,000 have some form of anxiety or depression,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n Find out what the actors just teased is coming in the next two episodes.<\/a><\/p>\n Just last week, the series was officially announced to be renewed for a second season<\/a>, and an actor hit back at another actor slamming the show.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n