Growing up, Brian Burke says he had braces and glasses, and he wasn’t exactly the tallest kid in the school.

But bullied? Not at all, says the Calgary Flames president of hockey operations.

“I had two older brothers. That’s why I didn’t get picked on,” he says with a laugh. “That, and I’d fight at the drop of a hat.”

He’s the first to admit, however, that fighting doesn’t always solve problems. Sometimes, it takes a conversation. In fact, many conversations.

Burke, 58, will talk about homophobia, masculinity and what we teach our boys about being men during a breakfast fundraiser on April 1 at the Delta Bow Valley.

The event is a fundraiser for Calgary Sexual Health Centre’s WiseGuyz program.

The 14-week program teaches Grade 9 boys compassion and empathy around issues of human rights, gender equality and relationships.

Supporting the program is a no-brainer for Burke, who has become renowned across North America for his charity work during his time in the NHL. (A graduate of the Harvard Law School, he served as the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Hartford Whalers, Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs before landing at the Flames last year.)

While living in Toronto, he marched in the city’s Gay Pride parade twice. He slept overnight outdoors in Toronto, with just a sleeping bag, to raise money for Covenant House, which seeks to help homeless youth. And he also volunteers with the Canadian Safe School Network’s efforts to reduce violence in schools.

In 2009, his youngest son Brendan announced that he was gay. The Burke family immediately threw their support behind him but, a year later, Brendan died suddenly in a car accident at the age of 21.

Since then, Burke has volunteered extensively with the You Can Play Project. Started by his other son, Patrick, the organization aims to eliminate homophobia in sports.

“It’s a really wonderful awareness campaign,” Burke says.

“It’s about teaching people, and showing young gay males that it’s OK to be gay and play team sports.”

And, he continues, it’s OK to be gay and live a normal life, whether you play team sports or not. For Burke, part of creating change in society involves both practicing and teaching acceptance.

“Not tolerance. You tolerate snow or cats or rain,” he says.

“But acceptance is different. That’s when you say, ‘I accept you as you are.’”

Start that behaviour early, and you’ll set a positive atmosphere for life. Then, if you have a child that tells you he or she is gay, you don’t have to apologize for past behaviour, he notes. “You don’t have to take anything back,” Burke says.

“If you have a relative that’s gay, you’re going to have to rebuild some bridges if you’ve been ignorant about this topic. So, don’t be ignorant.”

Part of the reason Burke says his son felt comfortable admitting he was gay is that homophobia was never allowed in the family household.

“We didn’t allow any racist jokes or homophobic jokes in our house before, and they weren’t allowed after either.”

Families and friends also need to be public in their support toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, he says.