Intense rivalry: Hit TV show inspired me to come out as gay, says ice hockey player

US TV drama Hot Rivalry – about two male professional ice hockey players who have a secret relationship – has become the first viral show of 2026.

For most viewers, talking about this entertainment at work or online is fun. For Jesse Kortum, it went deeper.

Born, raised and still living in Minneapolis, he grew up skating and loved ice hockey – but quit the sport when he was 17 because he felt he wouldn’t be accepted because of his sexuality.

More than two decades later, watching Hot Rivalry inspired Courtoym to come out as gay, believing it showed that attitudes within the sport had shifted for the better.

His Instagram post has since gone viral, making for a “pretty surreal” start to the year.

“I’m very grateful for where my life has ended up,” he told BBC Sport. “To finally get that feeling of relief…to bring 110 percent of myself into the locker room. Something was speaking to me during the show — I had to let something go.

“Then this release was shared with the whole world. For the first couple of days, it was shocking, but now it’s humbling – people have reached out to say it’s inspired them to have a conversation with their parents. I’m honestly speechless.”

Kortuem played ice hockey in local leagues in Minneapolis during his teenage years, occasionally dabbling in the amateur game as an adult.

It wasn’t until he joined the Cutting Edges, an LGBT-inclusive team that plays across North America, in 2017, that he re-engaged in the sport — and only this year did he feel comfortable being open about his sexuality with the broader hockey community.

Now 40, Kortom says he had to “reshuffle” himself in hockey – and life – to adapt.

But seeing the show, in which two athletes enter into a love affair, brought up pent-up emotions.

“I had to hide, and looking back now, it was hard,” he says. “It was still a place of rest, but I had to modify it myself.

“It’s time to put a real face to what this story has done for athletes, and get it out there. And it’s taken off!”