Gay pro hockey referee comes out

Andrea Barone is working toward his dream of being an NHL ref. But he first had to find peace with himself. "I don’t want anyone to feel as alone and depressed as I did," he writes in a first-person account for Outsports. Barone, 26, is the first openly gay referee in pro hockey and he talks about fitting into a culture that prizes masculinity. He dealt with his own homophobia and over time learned to accept himself. He is now out and wants to be a role model for others in the sport.