(IN 2016, THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE RULED
(THAT TRANSGENDER ATHLETES COULD COMPETE
(WITHOUT UNDERGOING SURGERY.)
(THIS POLICY MADE HISTORY IN THE SPORTS WORLD, WELCOMING
(A NEW GENERATION OF ATHLETES INTO THE OLYMPIC FAMILY.)
(HARRISON BROWNE IS THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE
(IN TEAM SPORTS IN NORTH AMERICA
(TO COME OUT PUBLICLY AS TRANSGENDER.)
(HE HAS RECENTLY DECIDED TO BEGIN HIS MEDICAL TRANSITION,
(MAKING THIS HIS LAST YEAR IN WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY
(DUE TO REGULATIONS AGAINST THE USE OF HORMONE THERAPY.)
(THIS IS HIS STORY.)
I think everybody goes through a tough time
trying to figure out where you fit in.
You just go through a lot of confusion,
you go through a lot of anger, just trying to figure out
why you feel so different.
I get misgendered, I get placed into society as a woman.
So just kind of when that became too much,
I needed to tell people.
(IDENTIFY)
So the typical hockey story of most people that I grew up
playing with, they started playing when they were
four or five, and I started when I was nine.
So I think that that really did light the fire under me
and give me the drive to be the player that I am now.
I'm Harrison Browne.
I play for the Buffalo Beauts for the NWHL.
The NWHL is the National Women's Hockey League.
It's been two years since its birth.
There's about 70 or so players.
It's a paid professional women's league.
It's the first of its kind, and it's given
so many opportunities, from playing overseas
to meeting lifelong friends.
The making of the NWHL was huge for me.
I thought that I was gonna hang up my skates
once I was done college.
And then when my senior year came around,
I got news that there was this new league out
that paid players, gave them equipment.
And I thought, wow, that's a really good opportunity for me.
I would definitely love to be a part of that.
So I went to the tryouts, I applied for the teams,
and eventually I made one, thankfully.
Harrison is a very gritty, hardworking,
determined player.
He works so hard.
He's got such great work ethic, and he's such a team player.
He's physical out there, just for his size.
We go up against each other, and you know,
I'm six feet and he's a lot shorter than me,
but he's very tough and very strong.
I'm probably the lightest person on my team,
so I really do have to make up for that with my physicality.
I play a lot bigger than I am, and I think that that's really
given me the success that I've had.
Everything that I'd been through as a kid,
it had been through a single-sex environment.
I'd been to an all-girls' school,
I played on all-girls' teams.
I definitely had those aspirations
to be an Olympic athlete.
I made a small step towards that
by making my under-18 team.
This is my under-18 national team picture.
So we competed in 2011 in Sweden.
And that one's me with the grimacing face
and the long hair.
That was just me being me at the time,
and I was just really happy to represent my country
and to wear those colours.
I think the most difficult part of coming out as transgender
was the fact that I had to come out all over again.
I had initially come out as gay to my family,
my friends and everything, and it was just kind of
going through that process again.
It was definitely a learning curve for most people,
but they genuinely wanted to learn.
It was just a growing process
that we all went through together.
- Hello. - Hey.
What are you making, stir-fry?
- Stir-fry, yeah. - It's so beautiful out.
I know.
Should we go for a walk at least?
Yeah, well, I can try and run.
Frantically texting Carly right now.
She had to go back to get a jacket.
So fingers crossed she makes the flight!
Wait, are you guys going for a walk?
Can I come?
I think the culture of a hockey team is family.
The closest friends that I have,
the friends that I'm gonna keep for life are my hockey friends.
You're around these people 24/7.
You go through your ups and downs together.
I don't know exactly what it is.
It might be the dressing room, might be the excitement and
the fight and drive on the ice that brings people together,
but there's just something special about hockey that
I found that was so much different than other sports
that I've participated in that I was so drawn to.
We were saying earlier today we're like a family.
Us three in the house, he's like our little brother.
This is where I run, kind of a cool neighbourhood.
You run?
- I've run here once. - When?
"This is where I run...once."
One time!
'Soon as I met Harrison, he kind of came out to me,
'and I just, like, OK, that's awesome.
'Like you wanna be who you are, you know,
'there's no problem with that.
'We don't really care what you look like,
'who you like, who you wanna be, just you're a team-mate.
'We love you, we care about you,
'and we just wanna have fun together.'
OK, stop here, let's race, let's race.
- Start here. - Go.
Did Carly get on the plane?
- Yeah. - Carly's on the plane.
What time do you have to pick her up at?
I have to pick her up at 5:45.
What time is it?
It's 4:20.
Ooh!
My girlfriend Carly, she's from Chicago.
So she came down to visit one of my team-mates last year
that was on the Buffalo Beauts.
And I just knew that she was definitely someone that I was
very attracted to, and that I connected with.
He's very sensitive and emotional,
and not in a way that everybody gets to see.
In a way that I think his closest friends and those
he loves and lets into his circle really grasp onto.
She's been so supportive.
She's been my rock through this whole thing.
She was definitely one of the people that pushed me to
really come out, to be like you can do this,
like, you should do this.
Are you guys excited to watch the last game?
Just sad that it's your last one.
I know.
How many games have you been to, Jules?
I think I've been to almost every home game this year,
except for, like, one.
Super fan, super fan!
She's a puck buddy!
No, I'm ready to...
Oh, can't wait to play my favourite player!
Oh, goodness.
I don't know who did it, hit her right in the head.
I could see she was yelling,
but I couldn't hear what she was saying.
It was hilarious.
We need this big meal so we can win tomorrow.
- Hell yeah. - Fuel for the win.
It's warm out here!
- It's warm? - Yeah.
Yeah, this ice is weird.
It's so watery!
ALL: Whoa!
I took a slap-shot, it broke right in half!
- Did it actually? - Yeah!
You have to start concentrating
when you guys are out on the ice here.
It starts here, and it carries over,
and you guys have done that all year long.
What makes hockey so unique is that it's the most inclusive,
welcoming, supportive environment,
both on the ice and off the ice.
You play and you love the sport,
you're welcomed with open arms.
After you take your shot, I want you to curl back
to where you start, I want a little pass.
This is Craig's first year in the NWHL.
He's been amazing after learning about the fact
that I'm transgender.
When he addresses the team, sometimes he says,
"Ladies," but he'll look at me and say,
"..and gentlemen."
So he really goes out of his way to make me feel included,
and it's definitely something that is really appreciated.
His goals will be determined by how he wants to end,
I guess, this story with the Buffalo Beauts and the NWHL.
When Harrison came out publically,
he had the full support of the players and the league
and the management and the fans.
I think it's been well received,
and he's been a fantastic ambassador for what he's doing.
I have top surgery scheduled in June.
I will violate rules if I undergo hormone therapy,
so my time playing as a woman's athlete,
as a female athlete will be done.
I decided to create a YouTube channel
because I've had a lot of news outlets share my story,
and I didn't get to tell it my way.
This is me talking, me sharing.
It can't be misrepresented.
And I'm using this as kind of a learning tool,
and kind of a way for me to get things off my chest.
Social media has changed my life a lot,
definitely has given me people to reach out to.
And the fact that now I'm that beacon of hope that somebody
was for me, I think that that's great,
and I feel a huge honour.
I have a great support system with my friends,
my girlfriend, my sister.
Yesterday I had kind of a talk with my parents,
and it didn't go well at all.
So...
The fact that he is so willing to speak on behalf of
the transgender community when we have so many people
that are not opening their eyes to what it's like
to walk in somebody like Harrison's shoes
just goes to show that he's creating a movement.
People need to understand that there ARE struggles,
there ARE obstacles, and you need the support,
and you need your team-mates, you need your friends,
you need your family.
This was given to me last week.
A fan put this over the glass.
I got that in Boston.
So every time I go to Boston, he's in the crowd.
So he's a fan of the Boston Pride,
which is the team out of Boston,
but I think he's a fan of me as well.
I get a lot of messages from trans people
and people of the LGBT community.
So somebody's just said, "Harrison,
"I just wanna tell you because of you,
"I now see I don't have to give up my passion to be myself.
"I look to you as a role model
"and hope to achieve what you have done someday."
That's somebody that's been going through something that
I've been going through, and that I was able to be
the person that I needed when I was younger.
It's really a cool feeling to be that person.
"I hope this reaches the actual athlete Harrison Browne.
"You're an inspiration to more people than you know.
"Thank you for being you, you are loved."
Signed - "a modern day parent".
If I can help save one life, that's amazing.
I feel like something we are really bad at
is making reservations.
I just always forget to do it.
I know, forget there's other people in the world.
You're like, "Wait, so there's no availability?"
'I've been playing hockey since I've been nine years old.
'It's been my life.
'So it's definitely surreal
'that this is my last year playing,
'this is my last year being a professional athlete.'
How do you think you're gonna feel about not playing hockey?
I don't know, it'll be weird.
I'm excited to start a whole new chapter.
Would you join a men's beer league?
Yeah!
Oh, that's so weird!
Why?
I've never seen you play with guys, so it's...
Yes, I'm gonna play like beer league,
but, like, no games are ever gonna be as meaningful as like
what they are now, you know?
It's not gonna be talking in a dressing room like,
"We have to win this game!"
I think you'll be fulfilled in other areas.
And you don't know what those will be yet,
but you will.
You want to look in the mirror
and see the person that's inside reflecting.
This is something that I'm jumping in with both feet.
I'm not looking back at all.
If I would've made the choice to physically transition
before this stage, I would've felt unfulfilled.
Playing hockey, he's done it since he was little.
It's all he's known.
You can't really take that away.
It's really ingrained in your bones.
It's definitely a closing of a chapter,
but I'm excited for the next steps,
and I just really wanna go out with a bang.
An unbelievable shocking upset
in Lowell, Massachusetts!
The Buffalo Beauts have toppled the Boston Pride,
and they take the Isobel Cup by a final score of 3-2!
I have accomplished what I want to accomplish,
so I feel I'm at peace and I'm ready to move on.