22 Facts About Brendan Burke

Brendan Gilmore Burke was an athlete and student manager at Miami University for the RedHawks men's ice hockey team.

Brendan Burke's coming out was widely praised and supported by sports news outlets and fans, generating multiple discussions about homophobia in sports, and in hockey in particular.

Brendan Burke was killed in a car crash on February 5,2010.

The "Brendan Burke Internship" was later established in his honour by USA Hockey for his work in hockey management and a documentary entitled The Legacy of Brendan Burke aired on CBC Television in November 2010.

Brendan Burke's death was the catalyst for the formation of the You Can Play project, a campaign to end homophobia in sports.

Brendan Gilmore Burke was born on December 8,1988, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and was the younger son and third of four children of his father's first marriage.

Brendan Burke's parents divorced in 1995, and in 1997 he moved with his mother, Kerry to Boston, Massachusetts.

Brendan Burke graduated from Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Massachusetts.

Brendan Burke attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was a brother in Sigma Phi Epsilon and came out as gay during his sophomore year.

Brendan Burke interned on Capitol Hill in the summer of 2009 for US Representative Bill Delahunt, and became a student manager at Miami University, responsible for recruiting correspondences, reviewing game film, working with coaches, and analyzing players.

Brendan Burke came out to his family during Christmas of 2007 and to his father, then-general manager of the Anaheim Ducks Brian Brendan Burke, after attending a Ducks game in Vancouver on December 10.

In November 2009, Brendan Burke came out to one of his teammates, Pat Cannone, after he was asked about his love life.

Brendan Burke then came out to the rest of the Miami University hockey team, of which he was the video coordinator and student manager, that he was gay.

The Burkes appeared on the Canadian sports channel TSN, where Brendan Burke said he hoped his story would give other gay athletes and those working in professional sports the confidence to come forward.

Brendan Burke's public coming out was met with wide support from the press and fans, with the ESPN interview garnering praise from the hockey world.

Brendan Burke received hundreds of emails and letters of support from gay athletes from across the continent.

Brendan Burke became well known in hockey circles following his public coming out.

TSN sportscaster James Cybulski commented that the reaction to Brendan Burke's story, and that it was a major story in the first place, demonstrated the need for Brendan Burke and his whole family to stand tall as a major step forward for all minorities.

Brendan Burke died February 5,2010, at the age of 21 in an automobile accident.

The impact of the collision fractured the base of Brendan Burke's skull, killing him instantly.

The New England Hockey Journal wrote that Brendan Burke would be remembered as a pioneer for addressing the issue of homophobia in hockey.

In March 2012, in tribute to Brendan, Patrick and Brian Burke founded the You Can Play campaign to fight homophobia in sports.