Gay Skier at Williams Finally Finds Athlete Role Models
BOSTON, MA - When Jordan Goldwarg, a
well-spoken skier at Williams College finally decided to come out as gay, he
found it “easier to tell people [he] didn’t know so well,” and harder to tell
his close friends on his ski team. In fact, his ski team was the last to know.
His coming out process was years in the making, and Jordan said that the hardest
part was coming out to himself. “I had a lot of trouble seeing myself as a gay
man, in large part because I as an athlete and didn’t see any other gay male
athletes around me,” Jordan wrote in an article for OutSports.com.
Jordan is not alone in his twofold
dilemma. In a world that is already tough for gay youth (gay teens are at a 30%
higher risk for suicide), the challenges are multiplied for gay athletes.
Coaches regularly motivate their teams by calling them “faggots and queens.”
Aside from parents and teachers, no group of adults has a greater impact on a
kid’s development than coaches.
Athletes like Jordan find themselves
pushed farther and farther into the closet, and have a harder time relating to
themselves. Jordan was able to find Outsports.com, but what other resources are
there not just for gay athletes, but also for athletic communities to become
educated?
Based in Cambridge, MA the newly formed
Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation (GLAF) is the first nonprofit organization
whose primary mission is focused on acceptance and visibility of gays and
lesbians in the professional, amateur, and recreational athletics communities.
The founder, a rower with the Boston Bay Blades, named Mac Chinsomboon said, “To
most people, sports and gays don’t mix, and it is vital that we dispel that myth
and come up with ways to foster understanding between people who share a love of
the game that transcends sexual orientation. GLAF was formed to defeat the
stereotyping and marginalizing of gay and lesbian athletes and sports fans.” To
this effect, GLAF will be sponsoring the first, ever Gay & Lesbian Athletics
Conference at MIT and Harvard, in Boston, on March 28-30th. Chinsomboon states,
“The conference will provide professional athletes, educators and spectators
alike the opportunity to explore how we can achieve this understanding
effectively. It aims to provide a forum for intellectual discussion, debate,
and expression of the issues concerning gay and lesbian athletes.”
Raising awareness of gay athletes sounds
like it’s exactly the thing to help the other Jordan Goldwarg’s of the world.
He said. “Pretty much the only exposure to gay people that I had was through the
media, which only reinforced in my mind stereotypes that I didn’t fit into. I
had a hard time accepting myself because there was a lack of role models. The
stereotypes that I saw and didn’t feel that I fit into were that of gay men
being effeminate, not an athlete, no interest in athletics, primarily interested
in the arts.” He also had a hardest time telling his ski team. “I was afraid
that somehow things would be different and people would treat me differently
than they had before. So I kept putting off telling the team until they were
the last of my friends who didn’t know.”
The conference will also highlight some
high profile gay athletes that could help those, like Jordan who need role
models to show that there are professional and Olympics athletes that are gay.
Among them will be Alissa Wykes, a professional female football player who came
out in Sports Illustrated for Women. Wykes is “honored to be a part of this
historic event that celebrates the athlete…the whole athlete!”
Another athlete, five-time Olympic
dressage rider, Robert Dover also expressed that he is “very excited to be a
part of the first Gay & Lesbian Athletics Conference. As a member of the last
five U.S. Olympic Teams, I have seen firsthand, the hardships which gay athletes
have endured for the privilege of representing and winning medals for our
country. It is my hope that, seeing and listening to many successful sports
figures at the conference, will give young people the strength to strive to be
the very best athlete then can be while showing their pride for not only what
they have achieved, but who they are.”
Other notable sport figures that will be
speaking at the conference are: Dave Pallone, former Major League Baseball
umpire and author of “Behind the Mask;” Billy Bean, former Major League Baseball
Player for the Tigers, Dodgers, and Padres and author of the upcoming book ";
Brian Marshall, Olympic high jumper and current PAC-10 record holder.
Raising awareness of gay athletes sounds
like it’s exactly the thing to help the other Jordan Goldwarg’s of the world.
He said. “Pretty much the only exposure to gay people that I had was through the
media, which only reinforced in my mind stereotypes that I didn’t fit into. I
had a hard time accepting myself because there was a lack of role models. The
stereotypes that I saw and didn’t feel that I fit into were that of gay men
being effeminate, not an athlete, no interest in athletics, primarily interested
in the arts.” He also had a hardest time telling his ski team. “I was afraid
that somehow things would be different and people would treat me differently
than they had before. So I kept putting off telling the team until they were
the last of my friends who didn’t know.”
Chinsomboon says that athletes have a
harder time coming out, not only because of the existence of stereotypes, but
also because “Anecdotal evidence and studies show that homophobia is rampant in
sports.”
Conference speaker, and author of “Jocks,”
and “Jocks II,” Dan Woog, calls the locker room “the last closet.” He believes,
however, that events such as the GLAF conference can change things for young
athletes: “Thanks to this historic conference, Americans of all sexual
orientations will realize that ‘gay athlete’ is not an oxymoron, but a proud
fact of life.”
As for Jordan, he’s planning on attending
the conference as well. “I’m coming to the conference because it sounds
interesting; it’s an intersection of two pretty important parts of my life. I’m
also excited about the topics being discussed.” He agrees that the Foundation,
its mission, and the conference are important because, “sports are so pervasive
in our society, and if we can gain acceptance in sports, then it will be a big
step in gaining acceptance in society. Sport touches so many people’s lives
from so many backgrounds. It’s so expansive and inclusive. It’s something
that’s important to people from different educational backgrounds, ethnics
backgrounds, and social backgrounds.”
Chinsomboon agrees and summarizes the
purpose of the conference when he says, “The conference isn’t just for ‘jocks’
but it’s for everyone and it’s about growing up and having positive role models,
mentors, and heroes. Could we save lives in the process and at least make the
coming out process less painful and shameful? Consider stories like those of
Matthew Shepard and how it could be different.”
For more information about the Gay &
Lesbian Athletics Foundation go to
www.gayconference.org. To read Jordan’s recent article, “My Life as an
Openly Gay Athlete,” go to
www.Outsports.com.
