LGBT Athlete Ally Ambassador from Stanford Daniel Knapp Shares His Story
Athlete Ally Ambassadors across the country, both straight and members of the LGBTQ community, list all kinds of reasons for wanting to get involved with our organization to spread the message of acceptance on their campus. This is Daniel Knapp’s story.
I want to be an athlete ally because I believe that the sports world holds tremendous power.
While working at Under Armour this past summer, I was fortunate enough to be out in a world I thought might be homophobic or transphobic. I was surprised by the welcome I received and realized that I am lucky. Oftentimes the sports world is not so inviting. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Athlete Ally is leading the charge in fighting homophobia and transphobia in sports.
I want to be a part of this organization; I want to be at the forefront of initiating change and acceptance. Though Stanford is generally pretty accepting, I hope to partner with Athlete Ally to ensure that each player, student, and faculty member feels completely comfortable in the locker room, on the field, in the classroom, or on the quad. Athlete Ally is paving the way.
I hope to contribute by paving the way both out west at Stanford and nationally.
Daniel Knapp is the Junior Class President at Stanford University, and a co-founder of trvangel.com