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Heated Hostility: Filomena v. Blackhawk and Hockey’s Ongoing LGBT Discrimination Issue


 

While eight to nine million Americans viewed HBO’s hockey romance Heated Rivalry, one viewer couldn’t fully enjoy the show’s fictionalized portrayal of life as a gay professional hockey player.[2] Brock McGillis, a former professional goaltender in the Ontario Hockey League and United Hockey League, has his reservations about the out-of-left-channel hit.[3]

 

Like the show’s main characters, Montreal Metros Captain Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Boston Raiders Captain Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), McGillis is gay.[4] Unlike the fictional Hollander and Rozanov, however, McGillis did not come out publicly until after he retired from the sport.[5] When asked if Heated Rivalry could make a positive change for LGBT hockey players, McGillis stated, 

 

Nobody’s like, ‘Oh, yeah. This came out and now I’m ready [to come out].’ It’s not happening… It’s probably more likely to have an adverse effect on a player coming out.’[6]

 

This tension between media representation and the realities faced by athletes and other sporting professionals underscores the ongoing challenges in men’s hockey.

 

The first episode of Heated Rivalry aired just three months after an openly gay employee filed a complaint in the Northern District of Illinois alleging the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Chicago Blackhawks Team, Inc. ("Blackhawks") fired him on discriminatory grounds.[7]

 

Anthony Filomena, former Manager of Public Relations for the Blackhawks, claims he was terminated after being interviewed for Outsports, an online magazine highlighting the experiences of LGBT people in professional sports.[8] 

 

The legal grounds for the suit are rooted in the landmark ruling, Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, where the United States Supreme Court held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the workplace is prohibited under Title VII’s “because of sex...” provision.[9]

 

Filomena, like the plaintiff in Bostock, brings his suit as a disparate treatment case.[10] As a result, the Blackhawks can avoid liability under Title VII if they can cite another factor, other than sex, that led to Filomena’s termination.[11] Currently, the Blackhawks contend that Filomena’s termination resulted from a lack of supervisory authorization to conduct the interview rather than from its content.[12]

 

The Filomena case reflects a reality that diverges from Heated Rivalry’s (novel) sequel, The Long Game, by author Rachel Reid, which has not yet been adapted into season two of the show.[13] Part of The Long Game follows Harris Drover, the Ottawa Centaurs’ social media manager.[14] Throughout the story, Drover, an out gay man, never faces discrimination due to his sexual orientation.[15] Rather, he is shown to receive unconstitutional support by the team and upper management.[16] How the show will tackle this plot point in the wake of ongoing issues within the NHL remains to be seen.

 

Despite McGillis’ initially subdued response to Heated Rivalry, the former player stresses that the show was never meant to be the beginning or end of LGBT activism:

 

It’s meant for the girls, the gays… It’s hyper-sexualized, hot, funny, fun. It’s a digestible way to understand the life of a closeted athlete.[17]

 

Amidst their quick ascent to stardom, Heated Rivalry leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie are cementing their place in the hockey cultural zeitgeist as torchbearers at the XXV Winter Olympic Games in Milan.[18] In sharp contrast to the support Williams and Storrie are receiving from the international sporting community as fictional gay NHL players, there are no currently out professional hockey players in the NHL.[19] 

 

Williams, discussing closeted professional athletes who have reached out to him through semi-anonymous letters, said,

 

Those ones are the ones that really just hit you and go, ‘Oh, so this is a fun show and it’s celebratory, but also sometimes it’s just hitting people right in the nerves.’[20]

 

While significant progress remains to be made on both the legal and social fronts, and Heated Rivalry is certainly not the cure-all, hockey is now attracting more attention than ever through a whole new audience.[21] Perhaps this heightened awareness and scrutiny can inspire meaningful change.


Erin Duffy (staff writer) is a 2L from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, she worked as a Case Manager at a personal injury firm, where she discovered her interest in law. While at Villanova, she is a Student Ambassador representing clients in the Villanova Tax Clinic. After graduation, Erin hopes to have a career in Estate Planning. In the meantime, she can often be found spreading the word of motorsport as a devoted fan of Haas F1 Team.



References:

[2] Rick Porter, HBO Max Says ‘Heated Rivalry’ Is Huge — So Why Hasn’t It Registered With Nielsen?, (Jan. 28, 2026). https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/heated-rivalry-ratings-9-million-viewers-hbo-max-1236487815/

[3] Brock McGillis. Former OHLer Brock McGillis: 'I lived a life of denial, because I am gay.’ (Nov. 3, 2016). https://web.archive.org/web/20190703145329/https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/brock-mcgillis-133805839.html

[4]Eric Todisco. First openly gay hockey pro claims ‘Heated Rivalry’ will cause players to stay in the closet. (Dec. 16, 2025). https://nypost.com/2025/12/16/entertainment/first-openly-gay-hockey-pro-claims-heated-rivalry-will-cause-players-to-stay-in-the-closet/

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Filomena v. Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team, Inc., 1:25-cv-09720, (N.D. Ill.)

[8] Id.

[9] Bostock v. Clayton Cnty., 590 U.S. 644

[10] Filomena, No. 1:25-cv-09720 (N.D. Ill.).

[11] Bostock, 590 U.S. at 691.

[12] Filomena, No. 1:25-cv-09720 (N.D. Ill.).

[13] Rachel Reid, The Long Game (Carina Press 2022).

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] John Casey. Gay pro hockey player lived ‘Heated Rivalry,’ loves the show despite his PTSD. (Dec. 18, 2025). https://www.outsports.com/2025/12/18/24124380/heated-rivalry-brock-mcgillis-gay-pro-hockey-player-nhl

[18] Anna Zucca. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie Keep Their Flame Burning for the 2026 Winter Olympics. (Jan. 27, 2026). https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/story/hudson-williams-connor-storrie-2026-winter-olympics-torch-relay?srsltid=AfmBOoq6C-KHWVJK6SqPA9GbcIpc5SDfj1NwgjYyr4u_dNxGFVgXY6S2

[19] Cyd Zeigler. Meet 17 male hockey players who have come out at every level — except the NHL. (Jan. 6, 2026). https://www.outsports.com/2026/1/6/24125176/gay-hockey-heated-rivalry-players-out-men-nhl-college-athletes/

[20] Nicole Fell. ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star Hudson Williams Says Closeted Professional Athletes Have Reached Out. (Jan. 7, 2026). https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/heated-rivalry-hudson-williams-closeted-athletes-andy-cohen-1236466745/

[21]Austin Karp. Audience Analysis: NHL continues to rise on ESPN; Formula E piggybacks off NFL for new record. (Jan. 15, 2026). https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/01/15/audience-analysis-nhl-continues-to-rise-on-espn-formula-e-piggybacks-off-nfl-for-new-record/

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