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THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN TRY- ING TO SUPPRESS US ARE FINALLY STARTING TO UNDERSTAND THAT OUR DEMOGRAPHIC IS WAY LARGER THAN ANYTHING THAT REALLY COULD GET SUPPRESSED. PEOPLE ARE FINALLY STARTING TO UNDERSTAND AND COME AROUND TO THE IDEA THAT IT’S NOT A CHOICE AND THAT WE ARE EVERYWHERE.”
our entire story was already public,” said Videckis. Going through this for the last almost four years now (they filed a lawsuit against Pepperdine University for harassment and discrimination in 2014), we’ve noticed that although there’s ton of LGBT athletes, especially in women’s sports, it’s still very difficult. It’s definitely hard to just come out with a story or experience, when it’s the first time telling it.” White stepped in adding, “It was really difficult after the suit, because they didn’t rule in our favor and on top of it, after our trial was over the political climate was not great. It did feel uncomfortable because of how our country is right now with the new president and I think the political climate definitely had a huge impact on the ruling. The new administration had also just implemented the ban on transgender people in the military—while we were in court—so I definitely think that had to do with the outcome of our trial.” “There isn’t a huge representation in the U.S.
focused on LGBT athletes in professional sports,” Videckis offered as a follow up. “This documentary kind of encourages visibility and being able to be who you are and not to be ashamed of it. It’s super important now, because there still isn’t a ton of visibility. I think to many people it will be a shock, but for us being athletes, we kind of knew there were a ton of LGBT players.” White added, “I like that there’s more of a positive visibility, too. I remember when Michael Sam came out, the media coverage wasn’t great. I think this film will be good for future players, it will help them not to feel alone when they decide to come out and hopefully it will be less isolating and more positive.” “It’s one of the things about why this film is so
important,” says O’Callaghan, “by that I mean things are definitely changing and have changed. But it’s also the sports world and is still one of the places that work needs to be done. People like Michael [Sams], Megan [Rapinoe] and Robbie [Rodgers] did the hard work of coming out early in the process, which really made a difference. I’m thrilled to see guys like you too, working to make sure the stories get out there. I think that for the longest time all the LGBT community has been able to do, all that we can do, is to encourage visibility. The people that have been trying to suppress us are finally starting to understand that our demographic is way larger than anything that really could get suppressed. People are finally starting to understand and come around to the idea that it’s not a choice and that we are everywhere.” “You know there is someone that is gay and in a
locker room right now, he continued. “The truth of the matter is that gay people have been in the NFL and the NBA and other sports forever. I’ve talked to quite a few guys, a couple of them played football who are out in their personal lives, but not out in their public lives. The one thing they consistently say is, ‘I wish you would have come out a couple years ago and I would have given the NFL a shot.’ I know many guys who didn’t even try, because they automatically assumed it wouldn’t work for them because of their sexuality.” O’Callaghan went on to talk about his view on
the sports world in general, whether things have changed enough and whether its ready for out players on major teams. “I think they have. If you look at Robbie, he had a positive experience and Megan is still having a very positive experience. Jason came
back and he got welcomed with open arms and Michael got drafted. I firmly believe that an NFL team would be just fine with a gay or bi player that was out. I think there’s enough reasonable leaders on every team and in every locker room to understand what it is to be gay or bi and can see past the stereotype of being in a locker room or shower with someone. I think there’s enough positive, understanding guys on every team who set the tone on how someone will be treated.” As to how participating inAlone in the Game has shaped their outlooks, Videckis said this. “It was a really awesome experience and a good way to end what happened at Pepperdine. We’re definitely more hopeful for the future and I was so glad to have met David [Creator/Executive Producer David McFarland] and be a part of it, because they really do care. David has put in so much hard work and really, he is someone that you can pick up the phone, call, and he’s legitimately there. I’m so grateful that we got to know them, because having that support is important when you’re going through things like this.” White added her perspective, “Being an athlete definitely gave us the strength to get through this. Honestly, if I hadn’t played sports, I don’t know how I would have gotten through the three years of this lawsuit. But at the end of the day it just made us tougher and we met so many people like David and Natalie. There’s a whole world we’ve been introduced to and we now know so many more people that are in our support system now.”
Alone in the Game is out on AT&T AUDIENCE Network now. Check your local listings for showtimes.
52 RAGE monthly | JULY 2018
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