Speak Your Own Truth, on Your Own Terms
Photo courtesy of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. License information here.
Philip Galanes of The New York Times had a conversation with tennis legend Billie Jean King and one of Athlete Ally’s advisory board members Jason Collins about their journeys as out and proud professional athletes.
PG: Why do we care so much about sports?
BJK: Because they reflect what’s going on. Sports is a universal language, no matter where you are in the world. They shape time and space, like dance. And the stakes are high.
JC: There’s a great new campaign that YouTube launched [to honor the gay community], called “Proud to Play,” and it starts off with a speech by Nelson Mandela. He talks about how sports transcend race, color, religion. It’s about: Can you play?
BJK: It’s a meritocracy, for real. Not subjective at all. You win or you lose. And that’s it.
You can read the full article here.