Outsports is asking LGBTQ people in sports how they are impacted by the coronavirus crisis and its effects on all aspects of daily life. Today: High school football player and college sports radio broadcaster and referee Eric Bach. He identifies as gay.
My personal situation has changed so much. I went from a super busy college student who had basically three jobs on top of classes to moving back in with my parents during this isolation period.
I’m the sports broadcast director at Michigan State’s student radio station (WDBM), so I’m responsible for overseeing all of the broadcast operations for the station. Now, of course, there are none with all sports canceled for the foreseeable future.
I completed about 95% of my basketball season officiating before the shutdown started. I did lose a couple of high school postseason tournament games, which I was really bummed about. This was the first time I was selected to work later in the tournament, but the tournament has been indefinitely postponed. Also, our intramural basketball season was cut short. We had completed our semifinals, but the finals had not happened yet when MSU closed for the semester.
I have been social distancing and self-isolating, because it’s the responsible thing to do for myself and society in general. The more we do this, the quicker we can get back to life as we know it.
This whole thing has been so crazy for me because I went from this super-busy person to not having anything to do at a moment’s notice. I’m really bored, and will probably watch just about every movie ever made before this is over, but I’m doing my best to keep myself and my family safe.
Eric Bach, 21, will graduate from Michigan State University in the spring of 2021. He studies journalism with a minor in sports journalism. He is the Sports Broadcast Director of WDBM The Impact, the Student Radio Station at MSU. He also works for the Big Ten Network Student U and is one of the student coordinators for intramural referees at MSU. Outside of school, he officiates college and high school basketball and football. He can be reached by email ([email protected]), Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Read Eric’s coming out story.
If you are an out LGBTQ person in sports and want to tell us how the coronavirus crisis has affected your life, email Jim Buzinski ([email protected]).
