First a disclaimer: I am not looking to out anyone or have my name attached to some 'scoop'. Anonymity will be paramount.

I am researching a possible story about what it is like to grow up gay in a hockey hotbed like Minnesota: The challenges, difficulties, how it affected perceptions of the sport, identities, whether it caused an abandonment of hockey. While my story is based on the Minnesota experience I would appreciate any insight or the opportunity to speak with those who are gay and grew up in organized youth hockey circles. I would like to hear about your locker room experiences and and how your orientation affected your relationship with hockey. I would like to get the perspective of players who played through every level through juniors or college to maybe pros.

Again, identities would not be a part of the story whatsoever, this is more an examination of a side of hockey rarely looked at, even in the State of Hockey.

Any communication greatly appreciated!

Has anyone ever participated in any of these research projects (often posted here in Outsports) that actually became more than a "possible" story? Nothing against you, but it does seem to appear with as much regularity as "Who's gay in a certain sport" threads?

[ January 10, 2006, 04:10 PM: Message edited by: copman ]

If you're going to come out looking for people to participate in your research project, at least come out and tell us who you are and what media outlet you work for. People will be more inclined to speak with someone they know than some anonymous person online.