UConn Men's Hockey Team Welcomes Prospective Gay, Transgender Players (Video)

UConn Men’s Hockey Team Welcomes Prospective Gay, Transgender Players (Video)

by Sean Peick on Fri, May 25, 2012 at 9:37PM

The UConn men's hockey team doesn't care about the sexual orientation of any of its team members. So long as a player helps win games, he'd be supported by the rest of the team.

That's the message of two videos recently released by the team as part of the You Can Play program, according to ESPN.com. You Can Play is an international effort to eradicate homophobia in hockey, and the Huskies have thrown themselves fully behind it.

"We thought it was a great idea to show the community how we feel about homosexuality in sports, and let people know that anyone can play on our team," said Sean Ambrosie, the captain of the team.

Although about 100 athletes — including 50 from the NHL — have signed a pledge stating that they would play with gay or transgender teammates, UConn is only the eighth team to join as a squad. Coach Bruce Marshall said that the players came up with the idea themselves.

Watch one of the videos for yourself below.