How the NBA Is Making a Home for LGBTQ Youth Like Me 

Basketball is a sport that I hold near and dear to my heart. Born and raised in the hometown of five-time NBA championship winners, the San Antonio Spurs, I played for several years and found a sense of comfort in the game that I couldn’t really find anywhere else. When I was on the court, it was like the world stopped. I felt like I was home. I could forget all my other responsibilities, and I could just focus on something that I loved very much.

As I got older, I stopped playing basketball and focused on my advocacy work. I wanted to make school a safer and more affirming place for youth, regardless of how they identified or expressed themselves, so I started working with GLSEN and improved the GSA at my school. Things were starting to look pretty good. Everywhere seemed to be a safe space, until I realized I forgot the one place I used to call home: the basketball court.

Read more on the GLSEN Blog!