- I think actually boxing was
kinda my gateway to my queerness.
(gentle piano music)
- [Julie] In high school,
it was dating guys,
going to prom with my boyfriend,
but I was definitely, I would say,
in the closet in college.
- When I did start dating
and talking to guys
then I had to hide.
- A lot of closeted gay men
and women can tell you this,
that they're not totally in
touch with all their emotions
when they're afraid to really
touch base with those feelings.
- I had to be really close with someone
for me to talk about who
I am and my background.
- I was having a lot of gender dysphoria.
I felt that I needed to
identify as a woman, basically,
in order to be able to
compete in my sport.
- I've heard homophobic things
my whole life in locker rooms.
- I remember being on a long training run,
and my coach telling
a couple of gay jokes.
- I would walk by my coach's office,
'K, this is the day that
I'm gonna go in there
and try to just tell
her what was on my mind.
- It's hard to have a relationship
that you feel comfortable with
when you, obviously, are hiding something.
- I came out after showing
who I was as an athlete.
My teammate were welcoming
and they were essentially
my second family.
- I did confide in some of
my best friends on the team
and they told me, "Oh, we already knew."
- Things that I've heard from guys
that were just the most
ridiculous, insane, ignorant things
were the same guys that
showed me so much love
and compassion and really
pushed me to stay in the sport.
- All these years, I had
separated these two things:
my sexual orientation
and sports, in my head.
- The team I train with now
in Duarte is super supportive.
I never have to explain anything
about my transition to them.
- Now I'm in the locker room,
I don't hear that stuff and
we discuss what's going
on with marriage equality
and obviously what's been passed.
- We just talk about, casually,
"Oh, what are you doing tonight?"
Or, "Are you dating anyone?" and all that.
- Now I'm not a gay
athlete; I'm an athlete
and no one's treating me any differently.
- We want the same fair shot.
- [Robbie] Definitely
get involved with sports.
From my experience,
people are very accepting.
- I don't know if I would have
come to the same awareness
or same comfort in my own body,
if I hadn't been through sports.
- If you're struggling with
your sexual orientation in sports,
there are so many people to talk to.
- I say talk to adults,
talk to your coach.
Give the adults the chance
to do the right thing.
- Observe your surrounding
and see if that community
is the right community
for you to come out in.
- I'm never to tell one, a person that
they should come out or not come out
but definitely find
someone you can speak to.
- There's never a right time to come out.
People say, "Oh, I should
have came out in college."
- You don't have to publicly come out
to be whole in your life,
but as you start to tell
people, it builds confidence.
- If there is a sense of fear,
then that implies that
there is something wrong.
- I'm the only out soccer
player, I think, in the world,
so that's kinda weird.
- I think when we remove
it as being something
that's considered brave then
we remove the danger from it.
- And I think that the fact that
some people are still
very fearful of coming out
and might not be in a
great environment that
that implies that there
is still a long way to go.
