Editor’s note: At 15, Los Angeles volleyball player Galen Dodd is likely the youngest athlete who has ever told his coming out story for Outsports. He contacted us and had the full backing of his parents, who helped him edit the story. By Galen Dodd Three dates will forever be ingrained in my mind: July [...]
Posts under ‘High school’
Gay Canadian teen was bullied because he preferred figure skating to hockey
There are really no words to convey the sadness over another suicide by a gay teenager, this time Jamie Hubley, 15, from Ottawa. He killed himself Saturday, overcome by depression from being bullied and harassed as the only openly gay student at his school. He was picked on because he preferred figure skating to ice [...]
My Life, Part 1: Greg Congdon shares his story of being closeted…and being outed
Editor’s Note: Greg Congdon was a high school football player and wrestler in rural Pennsylvania. He struggled with his sexual orientation for years until he was outed. It was such a touchstone in 1998 that it is our #83 most important moment in gay sports history. For the first time ever, Greg tells his story [...]
Male cheerleader kicked off Alice, Texas, team for kissing another boy
A male high school cheerleader in Alice, Texas, says he was kicked off his cheerleading team because he was “caught” kissing another boy on a surveillance video. See the video interview with the boy after the jump. From NBC: Student handbook prohibits discrimination Alice High School, a public school in South Texas, states in its student [...]
Moment #6: Corey Johnson’s story is told by Bay Windows and the New York Times
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Football, 2000. OK, it’s is a bit of a cheat: This moment is really two moments that each elevated an important story in our history. In April 2000, New England-based Bay Windows printed the story of Masconomet (Mass.) High School football player [...]
High school swimmer writes a beautiful coming out letter to parents
Last week, I wrote about Sam, a Pennsylvania high school junior, who had started a blog to talk about his coming out process. I spoke with him Saturday and he said he planned on coming out to his sister in a few weeks and his parents by Christmas. After much reflection, Sam decided the time [...]
High school swimmer, 16, starts blog as part of coming out process
“Sam I Am” is a new blog written by Sam, a 16-year-old high school junior in Pennsylvania. In ninth grade he was on the school swim team, but he quit his sophomore season, feeling inadequate and lonely, which he chalks up to wrestling with his sexuality. Sam now intends to rejoin his swim team this [...]
Gay teenage hockey player fears for his safety if he is found out
Note: Bumped to the top of the blog since it has gotten an interesting dialogue going. We have written a lot celebrating how it has gotten better for many gay teenage athletes, profiling several this year with their heartwarming stories of acceptance. But this story out of Northumberland County in Ontario, Canada, reminds us that [...]
Outsports It Gets Better video: Emma Delsohn, high school basketball player
The next video in Outsports’ partnership with the It Gets Better Project comes from Emma Delsohn, who is starting her freshman year at Seattle University. Emma became known to Outsports readers this spring after she wrote a fantastic article on coming out as a high school basketball player at an all-girls Catholic school in Southern [...]
Moment #83: Greg Congdon outed
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Football, 1998. Greg Congdon is a reluctant gay pioneer. Reluctant because he was outed when he was 17 and still playing high school football. But he has endured and hopes to become a forceful voice in the fight for gay equality [...]
Moment #89: Washington becomes first state to adopt high school trans athlete policy
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Various sports, 2008. While the rights of transgender athletes to play sports has been fought over in courts and board rooms for nearly four decades, it wasn’t until April 2007 that any state high school sports association adopted any policy opening the [...]
Eric Anderson’s latest study shows increasing acceptance of gay athletes by teammates
Eric Anderson (aka Coach Gumby) has long been one of the world’s leading academics on gay-sports issues. Recently his research revealed an increasing trend of young straight men kissing one another. Now comes an update on his research into the treatment of gay athletes. Previously explored in 2002, Anderson has brought his analysis into 2010 [...]
27 sports people have already come out in 2011: athletes, journalists, coaches and execs
Updated: May 19, 2011 When Ross Forman of the Windy City Times asked me to come up with a list of all the people in sports who have come out publicly this year, I had no idea the number would eclipse two dozen. And still counting. From the two men who kicked off this year, [...]
MTV’s ‘Sexed and Confused’ looking for gay athletes to follow
MTV’s Sexed and Confused is looking for young gay athletes to profile and follow in their series about sex. Closeted athletes, out athletes, bisexual athletes, men, women, boys girls…they’re looking for you. Here’s more info: Do you ever feel like you don’t have it figured out when it comes to the birds and the bees? [...]
Video: Craig Cassey on MSNBC
Update: This post now includes the video of Craig’s interview. Programming note: Craig Cassey, the openly gay high school track athlete from suburban Philadelphia we have featured on Outsports,was interviewed by MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts on his show Friday. Roberts is openly gay. Craig got a lot of attention this week after he was named prom [...]
Openly gay athlete voted high school prom king
Here’s a story to warm the heart: Craig Cassey, an openly gay high school track athlete in Pennsylvania, was crowned his high school’s prom king this weekend. He then had his own special prom moment with his boyfriend. I have written several times about Craig and his awesome blog, Craig’s Gay Word and he continues [...]
Successful discussion of gay issues at American Hockey Coaches Association convention
GForce hockey and Patrick Burke held a panel discussion at the American Hockey Coaches Association convention last weekend. The discussion was attended by coaches at all levels of hockey. A full press release on the convention and the group’s push to further discussions of gay athletes in hockey is after the jump. Share on [...]
An openly gay high school athlete reflects on the national Day of Silence
Friday was the national Day of Silence, where students across the country took a vow of silence to bring attention to bullying and other harassment of LGBT youth. Craig Cassey, whose blog, Craig’s Gay Word, we have featured before, has an excellent post up about what the day meant for him, now that he is [...]
ACLU tells school districts to stop blocking LGBT websites in filterting programs
The ACLU is telling schools in Michigan and Missouri to stop blocking LGBT-oriented websites with filtering software. Among the sites being blocked is GLSEN, which just launched a program to combat homophobia in sports in schools, and the It Gets Better project. Making matters worse is that sites that promote “cures” for homosexuality are not [...]
Basketball player writes about coming out as lesbian at a Catholic girls school
Emma Delsohn is a 17-year-old senior basketball player at a girls Catholic high school in Southern California. It would not appear to be the easiest place to come out as a lesbian. But in an excellent first-person account for Outsports, Emma describes how she overcame her fears and reached out to her teammates. And how [...]