As captain of the Division II football team at Bloomsburg University in 2000, Brian Sims came out as gay. His entire team supported him.
“Having a gay captain was something they were really proud of, and now they are all football coaches around the country who aren’t anti-gay,” said Sims, who is now President of Equality Pennsylvania. “Soon, I hope that will be everyone’s experience.”
Sims is the keynote speaker of Pride Week, a celebration presented by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs Commission of Student Senate. His speech, “LGBT Athletes and Allies,” is open for free to the public at 7:30 tonight in Baker University Center Theater.
Sims, an attorney by trade, is the former Staff Counsel for Policy & Planning at the Philadelphia Bar Association. He turned to a life of advocacy, though, to share his personal experiences and use statistical data to demonstrate the effectiveness of allies and the success of the fight for LGBT equality, he said.
“Eighty percent of people on college campuses support the general package of gay rights, excluding gay marriage,” said Sims, who is the chairman of Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia. “So we should talk about it more.”
The LGBT Affairs Commission, the LGBT Center, Open Doors, the University Program Council and others paid Sims’ $2,500 speaking fee, plus travel expenses. Amelia Shaw, vice commissioner of LGBT Affairs, suggested Sims as a speaker after seeing him during the summer.
“He has a unique speech because he covers so much,” said Shaw, a sophomore studying sociology and women’s and gender studies.
Sean Martin, LGBT affairs commissioner, said Sims’ keynote address is one of the events he is most looking forward to during Pride Week.
“I’m a big sports fan … and when a professional athlete comes out, it’s a big deal,” said Martin, a sophomore studying actuarial science.
The college campus provides the perfect environment for discussions of civil rights and equality because of the generational mind-set and the wide availability of information, Sims said.
The most likely allies are people who are well-traveled and well-educated, like many on college campuses, he said.
“There is no more important group in gay civil rights battles than allies,” Sims said. “College campuses are breeding grounds for allies, and I love it.”
jc543108@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCulture
