Towson Diver Makes a Splash for LGBT Rights

Courtesy of Steve Charing of Steve Charing OUT Spoken:

Bradley Bolin is flexible when it comes to wardrobe. When he joined forces with other students demonstrating against the homophobic Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church who picketed Towson (Maryland) High School, he was armed with several ensembles.

Rambling down the hill from the campus of Towson University to mix with the counter-protesters on York Road, Bradley toted a gym bag containing several outfits so he can switch off according to the fickle weather on a blustery early spring afternoon, while at the same time presenting several “looks.”

He initially wore a robin’s egg blue T-shirt with the line, “gay? fine by me.” As the sun tried to peek from behind the clouds, Bradley switched to a snug, dark blue tank top with the word “PITCHER” and a caricature of a left-handed baseball pitcher underneath. (His friend Zack wore the reciprocal “CATCHER” version.) As the chilly breezes took over, Bradley gave in to the elements and slipped on a gray jacket over the tank top.

But Bradley’s flexibility isn’t restricted to fashion. He makes good use of his lithe build and athletic skills as a diver on the Towson University Tigers swimming and diving team, and quite an accomplished one at that.

Bradley Bolin, who will be celebrating his 21st birthday in May, began his diving exploits five years ago in California at the end of his sophomore year in high school. He graduated as sixth in his high school region. In his freshman year at Towson University he was Rookie of the Year for his team, Rookie Diver of the Year in his conference, and Rookie Athlete of the Year for the entire school.

He also was named the Colonial Athletic Association Diver of the Week award this past November with wins in the 1- and 3-meter springboard events. It marked the first such honor for the Towson men’s team of the season.

Unlike many collegiate athletes who happen to be gay, and unlike his hero, Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis who was in the closet during the time he was competing, Bradley is out and proud. And not only is he openly gay, he is vigorously trying to pursue equal rights for all members of the LGBT community.

“I began being an ‘activist’ when I helped start the Gay-Straight Alliance in my first high school in Fairbanks, Alaska, my freshman year,” he points out. “Although in my mind I wasn’t being an ‘activist’ I was just trying to create a safe space for LGBT students and perhaps make my school feel like a safer, more accepting place.”

When he moved to Southern California following his sophomore year, he attended another high school that did not have a GSA. So he launched one there as well.

“I think I was more politically ‘active’ when I moved to California because that is when I started doing more off-campus outreach. I helped coordinate the LA AIDS Walk during my junior and senior years. But all four years I participated in the Day of Silence by turning my body into a piece of walking art and refused to speak on behalf of all of those who have been silenced.”

He wasn’t silenced during the anti-Westboro Church demonstration. His experiences with trying to establish a GSA at his high schools set the stage for his presence and support for the students at Towson High School. “Now that I’m in college I want to show my support for the youth and try to do something that’s right,” he says with passion.

The junior, political science-economics double major is out to his diving teammates and to the whole school for that matter. This has historically been a dicey decision for LGBT collegiate athletes and one where few have shown such courage. Undaunted, Bradley Bolin, who is the secretary of Towson University’s Queer Student Union, has taken the plunge, so to speak, and had no such qualms about being himself.

“I couldn’t ask for a more supportive team,” he says, acknowledging that nobody on the team, male and female, cares that he’s gay. “They see me as ‘Bradley the diver,’ not ‘Bradley the gay.’” He has one other teammate who is openly gay.

However, Bradley explains that there have been a few instances where people have made ignorant comments, but usually people quickly rally to his defense if he doesn’t get to the insulting party first!

“Granted I am not only out but I am one of the more visible people on the team simply based on my personality and I kind of stick out like a sore thumb,” Bradley admits.

He rejects the stereotype about swimming and diving teams’ being gay. “Most of the team just think it is funny/stupid that people assume that the whole team has queer tendencies just because of me.”

Bradley states that being on the diving team is like being part of a family, and he credits his coaching staff for fostering such an accepting environment. In fact, his coach, Maureen Mead, recruited him to come to Maryland.

Coach Mead says she is lucky Bradley chose Towson out of all the schools he could have picked. “He is an unbelievably, talented diver and team member,” she explains. “Even when he was a younger member of the team he acted as a mentor to his teammates.”

Bradley points out, “Our coaching staff does a great job by enforcing the idea of team unity, and I think that is a huge factor in how great our team supports each other. Plus, people on our team are judged by their merits and actions, not their sexuality.”

Nonetheless, Bradley still encounters the occasional “that’s so gay” and “fag” during conversations. But he points out that generally people catch themselves and apologize “profusely.”
“This irritates me a little because I wonder whether or not they are just apologizing because I am around or because they are genuinely sorry.” He is sincerely concerned about the effects of such remarks have on others.

“I am secure with myself enough to know that I am a good person, but the people who aren’t out are the ones I worry for,” Bradley asserts. “I worry that when those people hear such negative words coming from people, especially their friends, they are going to continue to think that something is wrong with them. I don’t fight against hate for myself, I fight against hate for those who cannot fight for themselves.”

It is that team-first attitude, whether it be in or out of the pool, that has characterized Bradley Bolin’s young but fulfilling life. As such, he rates high marks just like his frequent rip entries into the water below.

Openly Gay Mitcham Finally Gets Endorsement

Telstra, Australia’s largest phone company, has signed openly gay Olympic gold medal diver Matthew Mitcham to a one-year deal. This is Mitcham’s first endorsement contract since the Olympics.

While no dollar figure was disclosed, Mitcham said it would be a “significant” help as he trains for competitions, with his goal being a repeat gold medal-winning performance in the 2012 Games in London.

Read the rest at Out Sports – Jock Talk Blog!

Matthew Mitcham is Diving for More Gold

In spite of the difficulties he faced, Matthew Mitcham came out of the closet before diving his way to gold stardom at the Beijing Olympics. Now that its over, the gold medalist is looking to cash in on more gold.

Mitcham, along with his partner, Lachlan Fletcher is due to return to Syndey this weekend after a six-week European vacation.  Among is first order of business will be meeting with David Flaskas, his new manager, and the man who helped turn Ian Thorpe into a multimillionaire.

While the swimmer’s like Stephanie Rice and Michael Phelps have landed multi-million dollar endorsement contracts, Mitcham has yet to secure a major deal, amongst a great deal of speculation that his sexuality has held him back.

Flaskas however says he is securely confident his new client will be a “significant earner”, but wouldn’t directly answer questions on whether Mitcham would be a millionaire in a year.

Mitcham appeared on the cover of the latest issue of the gay magazine, DNA, but still has notgiven any post-olympic interviews.

NBC’s True Homophobic Colors Shine Through

It was disappointing to see NBC not mention anything about Matthew Mitcham’s sexuality. The biggest reason for me is a journalistic reason: It’s a big story. The only openly gay male athlete in Beijing pulled off one of the great upsets at the Olympics in a spectacular fashion. If he had had cancer, or if his parents had been killed in a car crash when he was 2, or if he had just proposed to his girlfriend, they would have mentioned it. But they never showed him hugging his boyfriend, never mentioned it. They referred to “personal problems,” but I’m afraid they decided Matthew’s sexuality was off limits. A real shame.

Read more at outsports.com.

Go Down Under the Water with Matthew Mitcham

When Matthew Mitcham arrived at the Sydney Aquatic Centre on a cold June day wrapped in a heavy coat and jeans (it’s winter Down Under), it didn’t seem possible that he’d strip down to a pair of Speedos and willingly dive into water again and again. The Olympic Games were two months away, and the 20-year-old diver with a pierced tongue was (and still is) dead-set on beating his rivals and winning the gold.

He did just that May 11 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix, one of the major annual meets put on by FINA, the international governing body for swimming, diving, and water polo. There, at an outdoor pool in windy conditions, Mitcham won the 10-meter platform, his specialty, defeating both 2004 Olympic gold medalist Hu Jia of China and fellow Australian and 2004 silver medalist Matthew Helm. Mitcham, currently ranked third in the world, also beat world number 1 Sascha Klein of Germany.

Click here to watch Matthew Mitcham dive

Or get the rest of this story from the advocate.com.