Pride P.E.I. uses rainbow hockey tape to send a powerful message

Pride P.E.I. is reaching out to Island hockey teams to get involved in a new national campaign to stop homophobia in sports.

Pride Tapeis hockey tape in the six rainbow colours of the pride flag, aninitiative that was started at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Pride P.E.I. says that when hockey players wrap their sticks in the tape, itsends a powerful message that everyone is welcome on the ice, regardless of sexual orientation.

'Every day we have athletes coming out.- Tyler Murnaghan, Pride P.E.I.

TylerMurnaghan, the chair ofPrideP.E.I., says hisgroup is offering the rainbow tape to minor league teams and the Charlottetown Islanders for free.

"It's all about ending homophobia in sports. I mean everyday we have athletes coming out, sharing their stories and they're always saying the same thing,that they were scared, that they were never going to be accepted, that they were never going to be able to go anywhere because of who they were," Murnaghan said.

• Rainbow hockey stick tape supportsLGBTQathletes

Pride Tape organizers in Edmontonhave a crowd-funding campaign on the goto raise moneyfor theInstitute for Sexual Minority Studies and Servicesat the University of Alberta and the You Can Playinitiative.