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Jock Struggles With
Coming Out
(Editor's note: From Hoosiers like Wooden, Robertson, Plump,
Bird and Bailey to the thousands of kids who dream of achieving their
likes, Indiana and basketball seem indivisible. The state has such a
profuse history, perhaps obsession, with the game that we commonly
associate the nickname "Hoosiers" for a basketball player, rather than
with the mostly rural citizens of Indiana it was originally intended
for. Basketball is certainly at the core of life in Indiana. But what
is it like to grow up a closeted gay superstar basketball player in a
small, homophobic town? For the purposes of this story, we have
allowed the athlete to be anonymous.) By
Coach Eric "Gumby" Anderson The wood floor of the high school gym creaks a bit as Blake shuffles his 6’4” 190 pound body up and down the court. He stays very late after practice. Although the rest of the team has gone home, Blake remains, shooting basket after basket, buying insurance against suspicion. Blake, as he will be known until he comes out, has a mean jump shot. He is one of the best guards in Indiana high school basketball, the subject of town talk and media coverage, yet he is only in his junior year. Blake learned long
ago that athletes are commonly perceived as incapable of being gay – a
veneer he has taken advantage of. And in the dead of a Midwestern
winter, the fans come out to cheer their up-and-coming, yet reluctant,
closeted superstar. |
