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Dan Lanini, shortstop on the Orlando Onslaught, tells The Advocate about his team's first-ever appearance in the Gay Softball World Series.
For one group of LGBTQ+ men navigating life in Florida, softball has become a safe haven.
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Dan Lanini remembers being welcomed with open arms when he joined the Orlando Onslaught two years ago. The shortstop, who plays in various positions, said the positive "vibe and atmosphere" were exactly what he was looking for when he sought to expand his social life. The activity also gave him the opportunity to do an activity many LGBTQ+ people can't participate in openly.
"We're very much a family. We do things outside of softball; celebrate each other's birthdays and holidays and whatnot. The team is really family-oriented in the way that we interact with each other," Lanini tells The Advocate.
For the first time in team history, the Orlando Onslaught family has landed a spot in the Gay Softball World Series (GSWS), and get to embark on a trip together to Las Vegas, where they'll spend October 14 through 20 surrounded by other out LGBTQ+ athletes bonding over their shared interest and identity.
As a group hailing from the conservative bastion of Florida, the significance of the opportunity is not lost on the Onslaught, who have seen anti-LGBTQ+ bills sweep their state like no other in the nation. While Lanini says that Orlando is "sort of our liberal safe haven," rights getting taken away is something one becomes "uniquely aware of just living in this state."
"We've had a hard time here in Orlando ... We in a lot of ways were not impacted like other parts of the state because it's so liberal," he explains. "At least in softball as business as usual, but there's always looming in the back of our minds what is going to happen, what the future holds, what rights will be taken away."
Hosted annually by International Pride Softball (iPrideSoftball), the GSWS is the largest annual, LGBTQ+ single-sport, week-long athletic competition in the world. The league itself has seven divisions with 54 teams and over 20,000 players from across the United States and Canada.
While the organization's mission is the "promotion of amateur sports competition, particularly softball, for all persons regardless of age, sexual orientation or preference," the tournament focuses on camaraderie, and bringing the LGBTQ+ community together in an environment they aren't always welcome in.
The Onslaught is currently raising money online "to offset the cost of travel for our players," including flights, hotels, transportation, and food. If the group doesn't "make a lot of money," Lanini says it will at least go to a team dinner. Still, he and his teammates already feel pretty "lucky," all things considered.
"I came out pretty early. But for some of my teammates and some of the people I know from across the country, it's a big deal because being a queer athlete growing up is just not something that's common, at least openly," Lanini says. "So the ability to have that camaraderie, have that pride for your city, but also be able to be authentically who you are ... it's really important because we can see exactly how big the community is. It really gives people an outlet to be able to build on things that they may have missed growing up."
