I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to call the gay hockey romance Heated Rivalry a phenomenon. In just under eight weeks, the HBO/Crave series has managed to hook millions of fans plus boast the second-highest rated episode of television ever on IMDb. The show’s popularity propelled its leads, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, to superstardom, and it also has several high-profile fans, including Pedro Pascal, Andy Cohen, and someone you might’ve heard of named Oprah.

But one viewer was left feeling particularly inspired by the show (in which two highly ranked hockey players embark on a secret, nearly decade-long romance): real-life hockey player Jesse Krotuem. This week, the former athlete revealed that the series is what inspired him to come out publicly as gay after spending years disclosing his sexuality only to family and close friends.

In a statement published by Out yesterday, Jesse explained that growing up as one of four boys in a hockey-focused family in Minnesota, he’d always felt a heavy weight knowing he couldn’t relate to those around him. He was particularly stressed by the idea that his identity and his hockey career couldn’t coexist.

“While I was out to many people around me in my life at that point, I still could not bring myself to be fully out on my adult hockey teams,” he shared. “On the outside, I was still a top-tier player. On the inside, I was still that kid in Minnesota hiding. Like many closeted athletes, revealing who I truly was to my team would change everything in an instant; their opinion of me could bring negative attention to the team with the “gay player,” so I never took the chance.”

“I know many closeted and gay men in the hockey world are being hit hard by Heated Rivalry’s success,” Jesse noted. “Never in my life did I think something so positive and loving could come from such a masculine sport.”

His powerful statement serves as a testament to the impact of representation in media, and it’s also drawn widespread emotional reactions online.

Jesse is far from the only person who’s felt seen by the series. On Andy Cohen Live last week, Hudson Williams shared that a number of closeted athletes have reached out to him and Rachel Reid, author of the original Heated Rivalry book, to express just how important the show has been to them.

“[They’ll] reach out somewhat anonymously, [and] are like, ‘I’m a professional player, still, and I’m still in the closet,’” he said.

“Sometimes they’re just reaching out privately through Instagram, and those are the ones that really just kind of 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.’”

The show’s somewhat unprecedented success continues to dominate the conversation about it. But stories like Jesse’s and the closeted athletes who’ve reached out to its stars are a healthy reminder of the positive impact Heated Rivalry has to offer beyond its entertainment value. As Jesse’s statement addressed, growing up with few positive reference points for life as gay men makes the prospect of coming out far more daunting. “Coming out in the 2000s did not feel like an option, especially with so little positive representation in the media.” His statement is a meaningful reminder of the necessity of popular media like Heated Rivalry, which—for all of its well-choreographed sex scenes and excellent Russian accent work and iconic needle drops—also delivers a tragedy-free portrayal of two gay people falling in love.