CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Thanks to a mix of raging hormones and peer pressure, locker rooms are often terrifying places for young gay athletes. So says 41-year-old Denver real estate agent Glenn Witman, who often found himself in towel-snapping environs as a high school baseball, football, and hockey player. Witman, the current president and captain of the G-Force Hockey club, an all-star team of the best gay male players from across North America, is now working to make locker rooms--and fields, courts, and rinks--less terrifying for young gays in sports.
Witman's interest began in earnest four years ago when G-Force took part in a "gay versus straight" all-star game in Aspen. (G-Force lost that first year and the next but won the following three matches.)
"We got some decent media coverage out of [the game]," Witman says. "I started getting phone calls from different kids around the country. I would talk to them for a while about being gay in sports and then pass them off to another player on the team more their age."
Phone calls from gay athletes began rolling in on a regular basis, and Witman and his G-Force players continued offering suggestions and advice, and, sometimes, just lent an ear. Then, after last fall's wave of high-profile LGBT youth suicides, Witman wanted to heighten awareness of his fledgling mentor program. He hired a publicist, who named the program the Athlete Buddy System and reached out to media about it.
"We need to start pushing this forward because it really helps people," Witman says, reporting an uptick in calls in October and November.
G-Force also sponsors "Invisible Athlete" forums at universities and
high schools, where sportsmen like former Dartmouth lacrosse player
Andrew Goldstein and former University of Pennsylvania hockey captain
Dave Farber talk about being out in sports. A January 20 forum at the
University of Denver is scheduled to be moderated by Philadelphia
Flyers scout Patrick Burke, the brother of Brendan Burke, the gay
student manager for the hockey team at Ohio's Miami University who died
in a car accident in February 2010. In addition, Witman is working with
high schools and universities, including the University of Toronto and
the University of Denver, to develop antibullying policies.
"Being
a gay athlete in school is one of the hardest things to deal with,"
Witman says. "These are the most closeted group of gays, because they're
always hearing 'gay' this, 'fag' that. I know if I could have talked to
another gay athlete when I was a kid, it would've been life-changing."
Go to GForceHockey.com for information on the group's programs and forums.
Nbroverman
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
18 of the most batsh*t things N.C. Republican governor candidate Mark Robinson has said
October 30 2024 11:06 AM
True
After 20 years, and after tonight, Obama will no longer be the Democrats' top star
August 20 2024 12:28 PM
Trump ally Laura Loomer goes after Lindsey Graham: ‘We all know you’re gay’
September 13 2024 2:28 PM
60 wild photos from Folsom Street East that prove New York City knows how to play
June 21 2024 12:25 PM
Melania Trump cashed six-figure check to speak to gay Republicans at Mar-a-Lago
August 16 2024 5:57 PM
If you think Project 2025 is scary, take a look at Donald Trump's Agenda 47
July 09 2024 2:35 PM
Latest Stories
Former Obama White House Counsel explains what could happen to Trump’s Cabinet nominations
November 21 2024 4:43 PM
Nancy Mace supported an LGBTQ+ equality bill before pushing a transgender bathroom ban
November 21 2024 4:08 PM
Ex-marine who allegedly tore down tattoo shop's Pride flag charged with hate crime
November 21 2024 3:35 PM
'A betrayal': Trans people respond to Sarah McBride's bathroom ban compliance
November 21 2024 12:36 PM
Jussie Smollett’s homophobic hoax conviction overturned by Illinois Supreme Court
November 21 2024 12:02 PM
Watch AOC slam Nancy Mace for 'endangering all women' with transgender bathroom ban
November 21 2024 11:40 AM
82% of trans workers have suffered discrimination or harassment: report
November 21 2024 11:18 AM
Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival returns to L.A. just in time for the holidays
November 21 2024 8:54 AM
Trending stories
Recommended Stories for You
Neal Broverman
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.