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NHL player to honor Miami University student in parade

Former Blackhawk will join Stanley Cup in its first gay-themed event as tribute to Burke family.

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Associated Press 9:03 PM Thursday, June 24, 2010

CHICAGO — The Stanley Cup, which has been on more adventures than perhaps any other piece of championship hardware, will make its first appearance in a gay-themed event this weekend.

The Chicago Gay Hockey Association invited the Blackhawks to join Sunday’s Gay Pride Parade after the team won its first Stanley Cup title since 1961 — and the team said yes. So did the Chicago Cubs, who will have their own float in the parade for the first time.

According to the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Phil Pritchard, it will mark the first time the NHL’s championship trophy has been on display at a gay-themed event.

“We are thrilled that it worked out as it’s important for the city and important for the franchise,” Blackhawks spokesman Adam Rogowin said.

Defenseman Brent Sopel and his wife, Kelly, will accompany the Cup on a float in the parade. Sopel, who was traded this week to Atlanta, is a 33-year-old father of three who said he volunteered to honor the late son of Toronto general manager Brian Burke, his former boss in Vancouver.

Brendan Burke, 21, who was the student manager of the Miami University hockey team, was killed in an auto accident in February, just three months after publicly disclosing his homosexuality.

“Anybody who has had to bury a child has suffered a heartbreak, and this was the first thing that came to mind,” Sopel said. “Everything that happened last year with Brendan coming out last year and dying three months later, it was a tragedy.”

Sopel said he’s not really trying to make a statement.

“But everybody is a person, and we all have feelings,” he said.

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