I am now a senior, and just finished my last season of basketball as team captain. I am fully out at my school, and speak openly and often about my sexuality and the need for widespread acceptance of LGBT teenagers. My basketball teammates continues to be my closest friends, and some of the most supportive people in my life. Mary-Kate has graduated, and now plays college basketball, but I remember the way she accepted me as a sophomore and try to mirror that open-mindedness in all that I do. I am thrilled that all the younger players have followed her example -- I often ask my team for dating advice, which is always received with excitement and fascination. Truly, though, the most rewarding part of sharing my sexuality with them is the genuine acceptance in their eyes. It's as if they were talking about the newest Ke$ha single: natural, and easy.
I spent three years in the closet. I know the fear every gay teenager faces right before they come out to someone important to them -- I felt it in that gym. Fortunately, I was greeted with the love every family should give to one another, and therefore will never regret my decision to tell my team when I did. If I could offer anything to the LGBT community, it would be to take a deep breath and be exactly who you are to those who matter. You might be surprised at the response.
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