On the Team: Working for a Sports Culture of Inclusion for LGBT Athletes
The reality of my early sports career in junior high and high school placed me as both a valued athlete and an object of anti-gay jokes and slurs. At that age, I had yet to embrace “gay” as my identity, yet my lack of machismo fueled doubt about my heterosexuality. Severe harassment, taunts, and a general climate of anti-gay attitudes hindered any possibility of coming out, and I would selectively participate only on teams I perceived as less hostile. Unable to seek recourse from my coaches or teammates, I continued to struggle both on and off the playing field, failing to answer my athletic potential.
By the time I began college at Dartmouth, I never imagined reconciling my sexuality and love for sports. My previous experiences didn’t provide incentive to risk further humiliation, and the lack of widely available resources and support for LGBT athletes left me feeling isolated and alone. Despite having the cards stacked against me, I had the unique, and deeply fortunate, opportunity to participate with welcoming coaches and teammates on the track and field team, who both affirmed and embraced my identity. For the first time in my athletic career, I finally felt like I was on a team.
While I had an exceptional support network at Dartmouth, I witnessed many friends at other schools being ridiculed into quitting their teams, or further repressing their sexuality for fear of being discovered. There remains today a serious need for support and recourse for LGBT athletes at all levels.
If we wish to create a sports culture of inclusion for all athletes, we must begin by telling our stories. I am humbled and fortunate to be a part of GLAD’s efforts to tackle homophobia and transphobia in sports. I wish there had been such a resource when I was in high school and college, especially for those who experienced far greater prejudice and discrimination. I look forward to a day when the challenges LGBT athletes face come from competition, and not from teammates.
Please share your story by taking GLAD’s survey, and help create a culture of inclusion for LGBT athletes.