A former University of Maine women’s ice hockey player, who last fall came out as the first openly transgender athlete in American professional sports, is retiring, according to reports.
Harrison Browne, who played three seasons for the Black Bears as Hailey Browne, will retire from the National Women’s Hockey League’s Buffalo Beauts at the end of this season, according to a New York Times report.
Browne, a transgender male, plans to undergo surgery this summer to complete his physical transition, according to the report.
During Browne’s senior year at UMaine, the Black Bears earned their first-ever Hockey East home postseason series, and he tallied seven goals and 10 assists that season.
Browne, a native of Oakville, Ontario, finished his career with 12 & 21. That included one season at Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania as a freshman, during which Browne had five points (3 & 2).
Browne had originally planned to transition medically upon graduating from UMaine, according to an ESPN story, but put those plans on hold once the NWHL was created in the spring of 2015.
The Beauts will take on the New York Riveters in the opening round of the NWHL playoffs on Friday.
According to the New York Times report, Browne played in the NWHL’s All-Star game last month, recording two goals, and was recently named one of the league’s “Fans’ Three Stars of the Season,” an award based on fan voting distributed at the conclusion of the season.
