Everyone involved in this site — including, yes, the person writing this — is either queer themselves or a cool-as$ ally. We work for an athlete storytelling company, but the truth is there aren’t many stories about us.
We exist, we’re here, and you are, too.
We wanted to create a place where queer athletes can tell their stories, or, if they haven’t quite written them yet (uhh, welcome to the club!), ask questions to help discover themselves.
1.) Click the “submit a question!” button
2.) Fill the box with whatever you’re wondering. They could be questions around new feelings, expressing yourself to your coaches or teammates, or general confusion you may have.
We’ve partnered with some incredible queer pro athletes — check the schedule to see who will be answering each week of Pride month! — who will do their best to answer and express their perspectives and thoughts to the best of their ability.
Feeling safe is of the utmost importance, so it’s 100% anonymous; you’ll never be asked to give your name or email. And we do have some guidelines:
We’re excited to hear from you and honored to be part of your journey. We’ll be here in the meantime.
Today, Tomorrow, Always,
Your Queer Friends @ UNINTERRUPTED
If you’re feeling thoughts of self harm or are in an immediate crisis, please don’t send a message through the portal because we won’t know how to get in contact with you. Instead call or text this 100% free and confidential hotline provided by The Trevor Project. Also know that you’re not alone and we’d love to get to know you!
I feel like my coach is treating me different since finding out I'm gay. What should I do? Should I say something?
"I think that depends on your relationship with your coach. If it's something that you feel comfortable with, I believe that communication is key.
In my personal experience after coming out, I found myself in a very similar situation. And what I learned after engaging in a conversation that honestly took me a while to prepare for, because you do have to go in with a level head and really be as open and as honest and expect that person to be, too.
But what I've learned was that as new as it was for me being out, it was also new for that person to be dealing with someone in my situation. And I really never considered that perspective, and I was really being treated differently because of their fear of messing up. And I think it's a really great opportunity to help that individual learn and grow and giving them the tools to treat you how you deserve to be treated. But also, in that next case, when they have to go through this again, they'll be more apt to handle it.
Kevin Maxen is a former college football player and the current associate strength coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.