Heated Rivalry broke out as one of the most talked-about shows of 2025 and early 2026, despite coming to prevalence in that horrible hallway between Christmas and the New Year that is usually reserved for Oscar-bait movies and re-runs of now-dated sitcom Christmas specials.
It tells the story of two hockey players that, on the ice, are supposedly rivals, but develop a passionate relationship outside of the sport. The nature of homophobia in male-dominated sports means that they are forced to keep their relationship private, and – quite naturally – this creates tension throughout. Its impact has gone so far that leading men Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie have carried the Olympic flame for the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
Outside of the critical praise that the show has received for its storytelling and the leading performances of Williams and Storrie, respectively, it has struck a chord with audiences for its depiction of a gay relationship and how accurately it reflects the reality of performative masculinity and homophobia in sport.
Kevin Penrose, 31, spoke on social media about how the show mirrored his experience as a gay man in sport.
Outside of his work as a content creator, Kevin has played football for Agharyan St. Davog’s in County Tyrone since his youth. He explained how the fear of being outed to his teammates and coaches impacted his love for football, because the club was “a place where that truth didn’t exist.”
After finishing the show the first time, Kevin read the 2019 novel by Rachel Reid that the show was adapted from. He went back and watched the show two more times, and found himself noticing more and more elements that were akin to his own experience.
“You notice ‘I felt like that’ ‘oh, this happened, and this happened,'” Kevin told SIN. “If that had been out when I was that age, it would validate what I’m going through, and show that someone else is going through it. It’s not just you.”
The first indicator that the sport might not be a safe space came to Kevin in the locker-rooms of his club.
“I was around 17, 18. That’s already a hard age; you’re trying to figure out life. When I look back, it wasn’t anything majorly homophobic. It would’ve the typical changing room banter, remarks here and there being thrown around.”
Even though the words being used made Kevin uncomfortable, he felt that he couldn’t speak up. To do so would be to subvert the “strong, masculine image” that was expected, and may have drawn attention to his sexuality.
“I’d have to join in or laugh it off, you know? Just to not have my own sexuality questioned […] It was a different time back then. Players weren’t called out, coaches weren’t calling them out. It was behaviour that was thrown around as if it was normal.”
“My confidence just wasn’t there at the time, to stand up to my peers.”
Eventually, Kevin made the decision to leave his footballing days behind. This wasn’t an easy decision to make, given how closely his life had been associated with the sport since childhood. His father played football, and his brother Martin won two All-Irelands with Tyrone. The Penrose name was attached to Tyrone football, but he had come to associate the game with “not fitting in, living a double life, and paranoia.”
After time spent travelling outside of Ireland, the topic of returning to football was pushed by his friends and former teammates. Now openly gay, Kevin was reluctant to return. He knew that he had the support of those around him, but he couldn’t shake the feelings that were linked with football. He took a chance on going back, and was welcomed back without judgement.
“The reception has been great. Not just from my own club, but from other clubs. The thought that ‘oh, maybe my sexuality will be used against me in away games’ and stuff like that – that’s there sometimes. But it’s all good now. I’m just there to play football. It’s a different atmosphere. I’m not hiding, or thinking about not taking part in conversations, or that I can’t talk to my friends about what’s going on.”
Kevin understands, however, that his “all positive” story doesn’t reflect the reality for everyone: “[There are people] with similar experiences. They’ve either gone through it and are still at the sport, or they’ve come out and left the sport altogether. It’s the same experience that I was going through: the changing room talk, the banter, the kind of words being thrown around […] It’s more common than people know.”
“For me, having a platform on social media, talking about it [means] you do get a lot more messages from players who’ve left their home club, or left Ireland, just to get away from it. They’ve set up a new life somewhere else. They’d love to come back to the sport, but it’s that fear of stepping back into a time when you didn’t feel like yourself.”
“When I came out, I got messages from people saying ‘I guess you’re not coming to football now,’ or ‘I suppose you’re gonna join a gay football club in Dublin or Belfast,’” he continued. “But there’s nowhere else I’d rather play. Just because you’re labelled as gay, it doesn’t mean you have to go play for this gay football club – nothing wrong with [gay football clubs], but it’s good to know that your own club is inclusive enough that you can go back and play with them.”
The strategy to tackling homophobia is different for every team, says Kevin, but the first step is simple: doing what you can to make the environment feel inclusive and accessible.
“We’re not asking people to reinvent the wheel or do anything major. It’s just about creating experiences and environments that are inclusive and welcoming for all.”
“One thing I noticed going back was the language used. I remember championship time – it’s a busy time of year – the coaches said ‘right, you’re gonna have to spend more time training, so let your wives and your girlfriends—’ and then he said ‘your boyfriends, your partners.’ It’s little things like that that might not seem like a big deal, but to me – I was like, ‘oh right, they’re including everyone here.’”
More than anything, Kevin is happy to be back in the role that suits him best: a footballer. This time around, however, he can do it as himself.
I'm Jake, the Deputy Editor and Sports Editor. I'm originally from Enniscorthy, County Wexford, and I'm studying Journalism and Politics!