SC Featured tells story of young gay lacrosse player helped by 2005 ESPN feature - ESPN Front Row

Contents:

• 12-YEAR-OLD TO GAY LACROSSE PLAYER: 'THE DAY I GOT THAT VIO WAS THE BT DAY OF MY LIFE'
• THGS HAVE 'GOTTEN SO MUCH BETTER' FOR 13-YEAR-OLD GAY LACROSSE PLAYER
• SC FEATURED STORY ON YOUNG, GAY LACROSSE PLAYER RONAT WH VIEWERS
• SC FEATURED TELLS STORY OF YOUNG GAY LACROSSE PLAYER HELPED BY 2005 ESPN FEATURE
• HELP 12-YEAR-OLD GAY LACROSSE PLAYER RAISE MONEY FOR LGBT HOMELS YOUTH
• THE COURAGE GAME: SUPPORT GAY YOUTH, REBE BULLYG, AND PROMOTE AWARENS FOR LGBT EQUALY
• NFL WEEK 14: 12-YEAR GAY LACROSSE PLAYER, EAGL WERE PHILALPHIA WNERS LAST WEEKEND

12-YEAR-OLD TO GAY LACROSSE PLAYER: 'THE DAY I GOT THAT VIO WAS THE BT DAY OF MY LIFE'

The All-Amerin goalie had stggled wh his sexualy sce he was 7, and like so many gay and transgenr kids, had ntemplated suici. '"Earlier this year, another young lacrosse player realized that he was gay. "There's nothg wrong wh beg gay, " Braen rpond, "bee I am gay.

Playg the celt of ccibl, the Syrace Carrier Dome, before 25, 000 fans, Dartmouth College's sophomore lacrosse goalie somehow has plucked Michael Sprger's pot-blank shot out of the air and starts sprtg up the curly open left sile. "As Goldste would say later, "I gus tak a gay goalie to have enough balls to sre the NCAA tournament. But early his sophomore year at Milton Amy, his Massachetts hometown, he told a iend, was liberatg, even thrillg, but Goldste's secret stayed between the two until July 2003, two months after he sred that groundbreakg goal at Syrace.

He worried that on the team's first road trip that the "unlucky guys who had to be my roommat would pla about sleepg the same room as the homo.

THGS HAVE 'GOTTEN SO MUCH BETTER' FOR 13-YEAR-OLD GAY LACROSSE PLAYER

" He wonred if anybody would s next to him on the team, however, several teammat approached him to apologize for homophobic language and off-lor-jok om the past. A handful of notable profsnal team-sport athlet had e out after their reers end and, to be sure, there were a number of openly gay athlet dividual sports at the Divisn I, II and III levels. Still, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound goalie was, the sports work nclud after rearchg the ntext, the most acplished male, team-sport athlete North Ameri to be openly gay durg his playg that year he was drafted by the Boston Canons of Major League Lacrosse and eventually played for the Long Island a before Amerin soccer player Robbie Rogers played for the Los Angel Galaxy of Major League Soccer, prr to Jason Colls steppg on the urt for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, before Michael Sam, a Missouri fensive end, me out advance of the 2014 NFL draft, there was Andrew Goldste.

"Andrew was the first openly gay male athlete to be drafted by a profsnal sports league the Uned Stat, " said Cyd Zeigler, -founr of "And then he beme the first to play a profsnal sports league. "In 2005, the gay muny didn't want to talk about sports and the sports muny didn't want to talk about gay people. You n no longer say that gay men all jt want to listen to show tun.

"The ESPN profile won a televisn journalism award om the Gay & Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn. "In 2013 Goldste was enshred the gural class of Natnal Gay and Lbian Sports Hall of Fame, joed by, among others, Marta Navratilova, Billie Jean Kg and Greg GoldsteToday, at 32, Goldste seems fortable his own sk. "I would notice that a lot of people would make, like, homosexual jok, " he explas.

SC FEATURED STORY ON YOUNG, GAY LACROSSE PLAYER RONAT WH VIEWERS

And then I realized that I was gay. "They all say the same thg -- are you gay? "So we go to Braen's room and ask him, 'Are you gay?

One boy at his school told Braen he was gog to hell bee beg gay wasn't mentned the Bible. "Stt had found the statistics on-le: The suici rate for gay teens is thought to be four tim the natnal average.

"Makg a nnectnFive weeks after Braen me out, on March 16, the Lang found Andrew remembered seeg a televisn piece on a gay lacrosse player and wh a few mut she had Googled the ESPN feature. On the day before the 2015 Divisn I lacrosse champnship game between Denver and Maryland at Lln Fancial Field Philalphia, a few away on the mp of Pennsylvania Universy, several hundred people, gay lacrosse players and their alli, gathered for The Courage Game. Now he is openly gay, proud, happy and full of life.

SC FEATURED TELLS STORY OF YOUNG GAY LACROSSE PLAYER HELPED BY 2005 ESPN FEATURE

His life changed when he met Andrew Goldste, an openly gay former pro lacrosse player.

The Courage Game's missn is to enurage and support gay youth, rebe bullyg, and promote wir tn and awarens for LGBT equaly.

I was trapped wh a secret, and when I revealed the fact that I was gay to iends, didn't make thgs better immediately.

HELP 12-YEAR-OLD GAY LACROSSE PLAYER RAISE MONEY FOR LGBT HOMELS YOUTH

Braen Lange, a 12-year-old lacrosse player who was bullied after g out as gay but found solace an ESPN feature. “The Courage Game” told the story of Braen Lange, a 12-year-old lacrosse player who was bullied after g out as gay but found solace an ESPN feature produced 10 years earlier. The 2005 feature was about Andrew Goldste, a Dartmouth lacrosse player, who me out while llege and later beme the first openly gay athlete to play an Amerin pro sports league (Major League Lacrosse).

“It’s (Braen’s story) given me a new outlook on life and also a new perspective on how different groups such as homosexuals are treated today’s society.

THE COURAGE GAME: SUPPORT GAY YOUTH, REBE BULLYG, AND PROMOTE AWARENS FOR LGBT EQUALY

Sunday’s edn of SC Featured on SportsCenter will tell the story of Braen Lange, a 12-year-old Pennsylvania lacrosse player who was bullied after g out as gay but found solace an ESPN feature produced 10 years earlier. He later beme the first openly gay athlete to play an Amerin pro sports league (Major League Lacrosse). As Garber learned, Braen had announced he is gay earlier this year and had been bullied onle.

And the evable hook of this story is that our story, the origal story om 2005, was the lk between the two gay lacrosse players. In addn to terviews shot wh Braen and his parents, and Goldste, producer Ben Webber and a crew also shot terviews and lacrosse vio at the “Courage Game, ” which Goldste had anized Philalphia to enurage and support gay youth while promotg equaly. The Courage Game, created to support gay youth and rebe bullyg, was one of the feel-good stori of the year.

NFL WEEK 14: 12-YEAR GAY LACROSSE PLAYER, EAGL WERE PHILALPHIA WNERS LAST WEEKEND

It sprang om the relatnship between former pro lacrosse player Andrew Goldste and 12-year-old Braen Lange, a gay lacrosse player who ntemplated suici until he found acceptance. Braen Lange meets the Thompsons wh father, Stt, at left, durg the 2016 Courage Game at Penn Park PhilalphiaThe Courage Game origated when a young, gay lacrosse player, Shipley School 8th grar Braen Lange, was stgglg wh the burn of acceptance amongst his peers.

As a registered charable anizatn, llects donatns year round to support s missn to enurage and support gay youth, rebe bullyg, and promote wir tn and awarens for LGBT equaly. The Courage Game is a 501c3 charable anizatn wh a missn to enurage and support gay youth, rebe bullyg, and promote wir tn and awarens for LGBT equaly. Wh the sports universe, lacrosse has tablished self as the clear-cut lear acceptg openly gay athlet.

Our sport was the first to draft and play an openly gay man s profsnal league, and we did whout any of the buzz of the NFL’s draftg of Michael Sam bee simply wasn’t a major issue to anyone Major League Lacrosse. However, our sport still fac a real challenge at the youth levels, where homophobic language and the simple assumptn that lacrosse players are heterosexual n make young gay athlet feel alone or unwele durg the years before they are ready to e out. I knew I had to do everythg I uld to make sure that this boy and so many others like him know that ’s okay to be different and that will all be okay the end, cludg sendg a vio and recg other openly gay lacrosse players to do the same.