It was during a rain delay at practice for the McDaniel College women’s lacrosse team that Lindsey Farrell decided to come out to her teammates as gay.
“We were playing Hangman, and my one teammate who's a captain knew that I was gay, because she's my best friend and I told her prior,” Farrell says in a film by Mark Dragon, a Towson State film student who was high school classmates with her. “And she was like, 'Lindsey, come out to the coaches and team in Hangman.'
“I said, no, I'm not doing that, it's so weird. It so awkward, and she said 'Lindsey, just do it.'
“So I drew a little hangman symbol and I drew put blank spaces to say C-O-A-C-H-I’-M-G-A-Y. … It was so easy to write [gay] because that's who I am.”
For a second, everyone looked at Farrell and then she saw "tears were coming out of 17 of my best friends' eyes.”
“My coach … jumped up with joy and ran over to me and in front of team, hugged me. I started crying because I can't deal with that emotion.
“It was overjoying to know that I have another mentor, another 20-some girls behind me and supporting me behind my process. That is why I play college soccer.”
Farrell and Dragon are both juniors at their respective Baltimore-area colleges and the film was Farrell’s way to announce to the world she is gay. She also plays college soccer in addition to lacrosse.
There are a ton of ways to come out and having a friend and former high school classmate do a short film about you is certainly unique and effective. It’s a cool little film and you can watch it here:
