There’s a new bar in town and since its opening, it has a lot of people talking.
Striker Sports Bar, which advertises itself as “officially Toronto’s only gay sports bar,” opened for business three weeks ago.
Kevin Lee, the bar’s co-owner, says everyone is welcome.
“The whole idea behind Striker is to bridge that gap between the predominantly straight — I would say straight — sports leagues and the gays,” says Lee.
“Toronto has the most gay sports leagues in all of North America.”
The idea for Striker came about after Kevin and his business partners were trying to watch a major hockey game a few years ago and found it to be a real challenge.
“It was really uncomfortable looking for these places and not having anywhere to go and sit down and look at the televised sports,” says Lee.
Now, Striker has quickly become an inclusive space for everyone to come together for the love of sports.
“Some may not just feel comfortable enough to go to a regular straight bar that has a certain sporting culture,” says David Polumbo from the You Can Play Project, an organization dedicated to promoting respect for all athletes.
“So it’s very important to have an open and inclusive space.”