Dre Barone

I joined Athlete Ally because I don’t want anybody feeling as lonely as I was. Whether it be professionally, recreationally, or as a fan, everyone should have the chance to fall in love with the sport of their choice and excel at it. There is a visceral miscommunication within the LGBT communities and the sports world. LGBT people assume that athletes, fans and jocks are inherently homophobic while the sports people assume that all LGBT people act a certain way or aren’t interested in sports. We’re here to break both these stereotypes and prove that most jocks and athletes aren’t homophobic and that LGBT people aren’t exclusive to a stereotype. Furthermore, if they do fall under a stereotype that doesn’t change the fact that they may be an excellent athlete regardless of the sport. There has been a lot of work done toward the notion that ‘Anybody can be gay’, even the most masculine of guys. While that is important, I think we need to address the fact that effeminate guys should be just as welcomed as anyone else.