For gay high school football player, simple team photo meant a lot - Outsports

Contents:

• THIS GAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER IS BEG HONORED FOR BOOSTG LGBTQ PRI HIS HOMETOWN
• GAY TEEN ASKS STRAIGHT FOOTBALL TEAM PTA TO HOMEG
• IT WAS A SIMPLE TEAM PHOTO, BUT MEANT THE WORLD TO GAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER
• THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB

THIS GAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER IS BEG HONORED FOR BOOSTG LGBTQ PRI HIS HOMETOWN

In addn to creasg visibily, Jake, 17, wants to normalize g out and beg gay his hometown. His favore football memory happened durg his sophomore season, when he revered the ball on fense, and everybody on his team went wild. Gay teen asks straight football pta to homeg.

Gay teen asks straight football pta to homeg epic way.

A gay 17-year-old asked his high school's straight football pta to the homeg dance, and vio of the epic "proposal" has gone viral. "I know I'm gay, but n I take you straight to homeg? "It's very important for me to be gog to Homeg wh Alexanr bee I'm settg an example for not only my school, but also my muny, " Peda told Instct, which is a gay men's liftyle magaze.

GAY TEEN ASKS STRAIGHT FOOTBALL TEAM PTA TO HOMEG

It was a simple team photo, but meant the world to gay high school football player. 15-year-old sophomore Jake Strer serly thought of qutg his Illois football team after beg outed, but he cid to embrace who he was and ma all the difference. Though I am on the team, ’s still a b awkward when you are a 15-year-old gay guy.

There is absolutely a “gay by associatn” phobia high school and ’s a big unspoken thg.

I get and unrstand that wh matury the realizatn that gay isn’t ntag. I had never had an actual verbal nversatn wh any of my teammat about me beg gay. I am not the gay guy — I’m jt a football player.

IT WAS A SIMPLE TEAM PHOTO, BUT MEANT THE WORLD TO GAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER

Their embrace of me was somethg I never expected after a year of anxiety and stggle of g to terms wh beg gay. I started hearg that people outsi of the team heard I was gay.

It was someone I had tsted wh the rmatn that I was gay and knew I was not out. Two weeks after I me out to my parents, right after my football season had end, I went on Snapchat and posted the gay flag emoji on my story.

I then said, “If you don’t get , I’m gay.

THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB

I was bldsid when some kid who I really didn’t know my last perd class kept g LGBTQ slurs while knowg I was gay. I didn’t know how to handle beg outed, how to handle g out to my fay or people at my school, and I fely didn’t know how to handle gay bashg.

I was sayg was OK to drive someone om a sport bee they are gay. I was fearg the “gay by associatn” that is a livg breathg thg for teens, pecially guys. I am proud to say I am gay.

Jake Strer, 15, is a sophomore at Metea Valley High School Aurora, Illois, and an offensive and fensive leman on his high school football team.