Jason Pippi is openly gay, out, proud, and making sure the Pride Night of his employer, the St. Louis Blues, is killer. He’s director of entertainment, which mean’s he’s totally… entertaining.
At first the Blues weren’t sure they wanted him to be part of their planning for a Pride Night. It wasn’t anything bad, they just didn’t want to look like they were bringing in the “token gay” to help them out. Thankfully they reached out to him.
As Pippi so enthusiastically told The Atlantic (whose Jeremy Rutherford wrote a great profile piece on Pippi):
“I think there was a little hesitancy at first to not go too far or make me the token gay in the room,” Pippi said. “But halfway through the initial meeting, (Blues vice president Steve Chapman) apparently said, ‘Why isn’t ‘Pips’ in here?’ He calls me up and says, ‘Hey, do you mind coming down to this meeting?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I knew they were expecting me, so I decided to make a grand entrance. I turned up some Barbra Streisand on my phone and busted in the door. It got a good reaction, got some giggles. I’m kind of known for my over-the-top antics and theatrics.”
You gotta love a guy who’s that willing to be that out there, and an NHL front office that willing to wrap their arms around him and embrace it.
The Blues’ Pride Night has passed, but there will be another next year, we have no doubt.
In the meantime, head over to The Atlantic for Pippi’s full story.
