Wade Davis Talks Being Gay in Sports in New TED Talk
If you ever listened to Wade Davis’ story, you would be amazed, impressed, and inspired.
In a new TED Talk, Wade Davis spoke about growing up gay in “the world of football” as he urges people to reconsider the definitions of masculinity. In the video The Mask of Masculinity, he opens up the video by talking about a game he used to play with his friends called “Smear the Queer.”
For those who do not know, Wade Davis is an ex-NFL player for the Titans, Redskins, and Seahawks and a pioneering educator on gender, race, and orientation equality. He is the NFL’s first diversity and inclusion consultant, and co-created the YOU Belong initiative and the Speaker’s Collective. Davis is also a U.N. Women HeForShe Ambassador, a U.S. State Department Speaker Specialist, and the official LGBT Surrogate for President Obama.
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This would be the next large story about gay NFL stars speaking about their truth. The one before that being Michael Sam, who was one of the first openly gay NFL player, who was also released from the Dallas Cowboys.
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All of this to say that it is interesting that we get to listen to two openly gay Black men who are discussing stories about their lives. When you watch this video, just understand how powerful, important, and resonating these stories are, and hopefully they touch you, like they touched me.
Check the video below.
(Photo Credit: Rob Kim / Getty Images)