""To be silent for so long and finally have something that resonated with so many people has been humbling," he tells Queerty. "But also a little overwhelming.""
""It's been so many years of being closeted and being in pain playing hockey," he says. "Even though I was out in so many aspects of my life, I couldn't bring myself for so long. I just felt li"
Jesse Kortuem is a Minnesota compliance manager and lifelong hockey player who began skating at age three. He identified strongly with closeted hockey characters Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander and Scott Hunter after a pivotal on-ice kiss in Episode 5. That resonance prompted him to create an Instagram account and post his coming-out story, which gained visibility when a friend reshared it. There was no PR strategy; his handle remains "pelotonjesse." The unexpected attention has made him a visible source of inspiration for gay hockey players worldwide and has felt both humbling and overwhelming. He described years of pain playing while closeted despite being out in other aspects of life.
Read at Queerty
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