SAN FRANCISCO — The sports world has historically not been the most inclusive with the LGBTQ+ community, but that world is slowly beginning to evolve.
For the everyday athlete, that just wants to be in the game, embracing play as an adult can feel uncomfortable, especially if you identify as an LGBTQ+ individual. But play is what the Varsity Gay League is all about, creating joy and comradery in sports with the LGBTQ+ community.
Thao Le is a Varsity Gay League athlete. Her teammates call her “Mama Tao,” but don’t think this mama can’t throw her shot.
SF Varsity Gay League
CBS
“You can ask anyone on my team, because once you are on that court, they don’t even know where that person comes from and I become that Godzilla type person and I scream a lot,” she explained.
An intense player on the court and a mama bear on the sidelines, Le can be whoever she wants to be here.
“It is a safe feeling, people of your own, it is your own community,” said Le. “This particular VGL community I belong to, it is like the biggest family I have ever had.”
Like many adults who move to a new city, finding community is necessary but not always easy. That’s how Le came across San Francisco’s chapter of Varsity Gay League’s dodgeball team in 2017.
“The last time I played it was elementary school; like 8th grade. I was like, ‘God, I hope I remember what to do,'” remembered Le.
But Le quickly found her grip and her place on the team, a team that gives her more than just a good sweat.
“They have created such confidence, they have given me such confidence to be who I am,” said Le. “To give and receive love, advise for each other. It is a comradery, this group I belong to, they give me that, something I haven’t felt.”
On the court with Le is teammate Joel Garcia.
“I think it is important to have activities that are not in an office space, that allow us to be playful and to really re-encounter our childhood selves,” said Garcia.
Varsity Gay League has been a staple in Garcia’s life for the last decade. He played on the tennis team in Los Angeles before moving to San Francisco, where he joined the league in the Bay Area.
“It has been a long time since I have felt any sort of isolation or adversity for being part of the LGBTQ community,” said Garcia. “And it is nice to reap the benefits of all the hard work of the community that has come before us to really lay the foundation for being more free and being more accepted and to have out in the open communities where people can play sports, can engage in common interests and to really just have a good time with each other.”
The Monday night dodgeball manager for Varsity Gay League is Ryann Madden.
“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball,” laughed Madden, making a reference to the Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn comedy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
Madden wants his players to have fun but most importantly to be true to who they are. This is something he could not always do himself.
“I remember as a young man finding it difficult to actually be my full authentic self in some communities,” explained Madden. “Even though I enjoyed sports, I just didn’t feel like I was clicking with different members and different athletes.”
In the past 15 years, Varsity Gay League has created 23 of these safe spaces in cities across the country. More than 7,000 LGBTQ+ athletes have come together to find joy in sports and to elevate each other’s individuality that they bring to the game.
“The reason we have these spaces so someone can show up and be 100% who they are because everyone has a right to be who they are as an individual in whatever way they identify in their life,” said Madden.
Amid the chaos on the court, between the incredible plays or silly moves, this is a space where it is all celebrated, no matter who a person is and what someone is dodging in life.
“There is a place for you to have fun and laugh and not take yourself too seriously,” said Garcis.
On this dodgeball court, it is a place to spend an hour to embrace the joy and let people like “Mama Thao” safely feel like a kid again.
“Why not? I love it,” said Le.
San Francisco’s Varsity Gay League offers dodgeball, soccer and kickball. More info is available on the Varsity Gay League website.
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Amanda Starrantino
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