Athlete Ally: Setting a Precedent for LGBTQ Athletes
By Leila Metres
Did you know that the first openly gay D1 men’s basketball player went to UMass?
In 2014, Derrick Gordon took the UMass men’s basketball team to March Madness (UMass’ first tournament appearance in 16 years) while also breaking barriers off the court. His presence at UMass and coming out story should be lauded both within the athletic department and in the larger community as well. But unfortunately, it’s a piece of UMass history that often gets overlooked.
Eleven years later, being out as an LGBTQ athlete is more common, but the sporting world is still rife with hate. Trans female athletes are accused of cheating. Trans male athletes are underestimated. Queer people of all identities are harassed for their presence on sports teams. On many teams, anti-LGBTQ stigma becomes a part of the culture. And this belief that queer people don’t (or shouldn’t) do sports is pushing us out.
What Is Athlete Ally? Creating Inclusive Sports Environments
Athlete Ally is working to change that. A chapter of a larger nationwide organization, UMass Amherst Athlete Ally is a group of LGBTQ athletes and their allies working to make sports more inclusive and supportive of all people in athletics.
Mari McBride, the president of Athlete Ally at UMass and a fellow Honors student, was inspired to start the group after attending the Athlete Ally Activism Summit in 2024.
“Sometimes when you’re doing something and there’s not a lot of representation or you don’t know a lot of people doing the same thing…it feels like you’re the first person to ever do it,” Mari says.
But while at the summit, Mari “felt like there was a precedent for my existence.” Mari had been in the sports world from a young age and came out all the way back in seventh grade. But being at the summit with so many other Division 1 athletes who were also a part of the LGBTQ community gave them an experience they never had before—confidence and affirmation in their identity as a nonbinary athlete. “It made me be able to reach a level of self acceptance that I had not been able to reach in any athletics space or in any queer space before that.”
Being in a community where LGBTQ identities are celebrated and centered is something I care a lot about. So when I heard that my teammate was creating a chapter of Athlete Ally at UMass, I knew I had to be involved.
My Journey: Embracing Queerness and Athletics
For me, sports and my queerness are intertwined. In middle school, I struggled with my confidence and identity. But when I truly fell in love with track in high school, I started to find my purpose. I developed the ability to see myself as more than a victim of the hate I encountered—instead, I saw myself as strong and able to take on any challenge that came my way. And yet: there were still moments where I felt the impacts of being in a space with so few other queer people.
At a practice in high school, I had a teammate tell me he loved me, but believed I would go to hell for my sexuality. When our coach eventually got involved, he told us we just have to refrain from discussing “politics” at practice going forward.
But this isn’t politics, I thought. I’m just talking about my life.
Creating a Culture of Care for LGBTQ Athletes
Coming out on a sports team can be incredibly scary. It’s important to not only respect your teammates’ identities, but also uplift them. It’s not enough to tolerate them—you have to do your part in creating a culture of care, a concept Honors College Dean Mari Castañeda champions. This culture of care, inclusion, and support goes a long way in making your LGBTQ teammates feel seen and safe.
Additionally, there’s a myth that if trans female athletes are allowed to compete in women’s sports, they will dominate. But that’s simply not true. Some girls are bigger, stronger, or faster than other girls—that’s just how the sporting world works. There’s a level of fear mongering that far outweighs the actual presence of trans athletes in sports, not to mention their perceived success.
Who gets to decide who benefits from the life changing and life saving experience of participating in sports?
Why should trans girls be excluded, because they might have some marginal advantage?
And how many trans athletes who don’t beat their cis counterparts go unnoticed, because they don’t fit into the narrative that trans women are ruining women's sports?
At UMass, Athlete Ally held our first event last semester around Valentine’s Day. It was called Dessert Date, and it was a big success. We set up a table of desserts, put together an LGBTQ Jeopardy, and divided people up into teams to compete for pride bracelets. All the athletes, queer or not, left having enjoyed a break from school and practice, and having learned about LGBTQ topics that they wouldn’t have otherwise encountered.
Next year, we have a full slate of events coming up. You’ll be able to find us tabling at the Welcome Back event for student-athletes in September. Plans are in the works to host Derrick Gordon on campus for Homecoming Weekend. We’re also going to collaborate with BSAU (Black Student Athletes United) for an event discussing the intersection of race and sexuality. We’re incredibly excited to build on the work that we started this year, and hope as many student-athletes will join us as possible.
How to Be an Ally to LGBTQ Athletes
What should you do if you want to be an ally to LGBTQ athletes but don’t know how?
“Sports is such a powerful social tool to change hearts and minds and lives, so when we can harness the power of that for good…it’s just really dramatically life changing,” Mari says, “It is sometimes awkward or sometimes unpopular to stand by your values. But stay grounded and call out your teammates if they say something unkind.”
Changing a culture is a big task, but it starts small. It starts with us, one athlete ally at a time.
