Closeted Athletes Are Reaching Out to Hudson Williams

Hudson Williams can measure Heated Rivalry’s impact by his inbox. In a clip for tomorrow’s episode of Radio Andy on SiriusXM, Williams said athletes who aren’t out of the closet are showing love in the DMs. Williams says he’s been contacted by “people who reach out, somewhat anonymously, who are like, ‘I’m still a professional player still and I’m still in the closet.’” And it’s not just hockey. Williams says he’s been contacted by pro athletes in hockey, basketball, and football.

“They’re reaching out to Rachel [Reid], our author, who will then relay these lovely anonymous emails. Sometimes they’re just reaching out privately, through like Instagram,” Williams said. “Those ones are the ones that really just hit you and go, ‘Oh, so this is a fun show and it’s celebratory, but also sometimes it’s just hitting people right in the nerves.”

Heated Rivalry is a success by any metric you want to use. Lives touched, ratings, or Carly Rae Jepsen’s interested in making music — the show is hitting all KPIs. After show creator Jacob Tierney said he’d love for Jepsen to make a song for season 2, the Canadian pop princess followed the show’s officially IG. It’s all happening.