Out black Dartmouth College runner shares his experiences

Four years ago, I had no sense of what life could be like as an openly gay athlete on the track team at Dartmouth College [New Hampshire, USA]. I would have never imagined that my teammates and coaches would embrace me; that I would be selected to lead the 100+ member squad in team cheers and rallies before every competition; or that I would come to love myself. Thoughts of being out and proud were always followed by grim images of physical or verbal harassment and frequent bouts of depression, and I was constantly afraid of being driven away from the sport to which I had dedicated many years of my life. I spent my high school athletic career lying to myself and watching from the stands as openly gay students endured severe harassment and ostracism, which should have been reason enough for me to remain closeted during my collegiate career while competing for an institution with a long history of homophobia as well as racism. I deeply wanted to be out, but I questioned whether college athletics could be a space for me to be openly gay. Read Article

By Jamal Brown