Ten years ago, lacrosse player Andrew Goldste beme the first openly gay athlete to be drafted by a profsnal sports team. Today, he's spirg a new generatn of young athlet.
Contents:
- MICHELLE TUMOLO IS AN OPENLY GAY LACROSSE SUPERSTAR
- HARVARD LACROSSE PLAYER TO TEAMMAT: ‘GUYS, I’M GAY’
- GAY ATHLET IN LACROSSE – WHAT’S THE PROBLEM HERE?
MICHELLE TUMOLO IS AN OPENLY GAY LACROSSE SUPERSTAR
She has been an ele player llege and helpg the U.S. to a world tle and has done while beg openly gay. * openly gay lacrosse player *
She has done all while beg openly gay. It appears to be the first time Tumolo has openly discsed beg gay a media terview, though she is que open about on her social media. Noah Knopf was received warmly after g out to his Harvard teammat, but says the sport has to al wh an graed homophobia.
“I wanted to talk to you this morng to tell you that I’m gay. “I uld tell people that I’m gay. When I was 19, I heard on a podst that the new ernor of Colorado was gay, and felt for a moment that the world might be changg.
Never had I properly acknowledged the fact that I was gay. While bshg my teeth a few nights before talkg to my parents, I realized that I had never even said the words “I’m gay” out loud before. “I’m gay, ” I whispered the mirror, and sed to myself.
HARVARD LACROSSE PLAYER TO TEAMMAT: ‘GUYS, I’M GAY’
I also felt the need to expla myself my first few nversatns about beg gay. I’m gay.
I had asked my iends and fay to keep our nversatns private bee, after wnsg the way that people lacrosse talk about beg gay, I wanted my teammat to hear the news om me.
I believed that after three years on the team, they would know me as Noah first and the gay kid send, but our locker room was not immune to the homophobic jok and sults that are the norm men’s lacrosse. Although my experience as a gay whe man is different om Ellison’s experience as a Black man, his words spired me. But one factor I began to nsir was the way that people talk about beg gay our culture.
GAY ATHLET IN LACROSSE – WHAT’S THE PROBLEM HERE?
For the first time throughout the fall, I started payg closer attentn to the jok, sults and ments about beg gay that had surround me sce I was a teenager. I first heard the word “faggot” locker rooms when I was fifth gra — before I unrstood what meant to be gay. Even the progrsive circl where I me om, kids sually threw around homophobic jok and sults que routely, cludg those of who would have said we believed was pletely OK to be gay.
I’m embarrassed to say that I too ma homophobic jok and lghed at homophobic sults. I believe that a siar gnive dissonance plays a role the wispread homophobic speech that pervas the sport of lacrosse.
I am sure that a few people our sport do ed hate gay people and e hateful language to exprs their feelgs.