Nika Ouellette threw the javelin for the University of Vermont and now competes with USA Track and Field, and she has a story that’s not a coming out story because she never had anything to come out of.
“If you’re looking for my own coming out story, you won’t find it here (or anywhere). I’m the youngest of four, all of us women, and all of us gay. This mostly serves as a fun fact to wow people, but honestly, I think it’s the coolest thing ever!
“I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where I wasn’t ever concerned about acceptance or hiding my sexuality. A home where the majority of the family identified as queer. The ‘norm’ was everyone else’s ‘not norm.’
The reason my teammate saw me as comfortable in my own skin was that I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by a family who encouraged me to be…me. And that’s lucky, and it’s rarer than it should be.”
Ouellette wrote about her experiences for Athlete Ally’s website and details why she wants to be an advocate for LGBTQ people in sports.
“Because I was comfortable being exactly who I was growing up, doesn’t mean that everybody was and is,” she said. “I genuinely believe that I would be doing my LGBTQ+ community a disservice if I didn’t continually stand for what is right and fair. I’m grateful, too, that I have a platform as an athlete and coach, where I get to serve as a mentor and role model for many.”
You can follow Ouellette on Instagram.
