When a young
football player was in high school, and he heard nothing but 'fag' everyday,
there was three words that got him through his day: It Gets Better.
Meet Dalton
Leo, a Wisconsin-born college student who has become an inspiration to every
kid who loves sports and is proud of who he is.
Writing for OutSports, he said: 'I felt like something was wrong with
me [in high school], and worst of all I couldn't even look at myself in the
mirror because I was so ashamed of who I was.
'You know that
saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt
me"? I couldn't disagree more.
'There were
some days I'd rather get hit with a two-by-four than hear the crude comments
some people made. These words weren't just something I heard in the halls, they
were all too common words in the locker room as well.
'One saying
that has guided me through all of this: "It Gets Better."'
Leo said he
pushed himself hard, almost too hard, to 'compensate' for being gay. It got too
much, until he finally told his best friend Aubrey.
'I love you for
you, this doesn't change a thing,' she told him, and it inspired him to tell
his teammates who were just as supportive.
'Dalton I'm so
happy you told me,' a linebacker told him. 'Nothing changes anything dude. How
long have you known?'
On his 18th
birthday, he told his parents. '"Is that all?" My mom said,' Leo
wrote. 'She stood up gave me a hug, and that was the end of it. I was their son
and nothing was going to change that, my parents love me still to this day
unconditionally.'
When he went to
college at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, he went back in the closet as
he was nervous about meeting so many people.
'For the first
couple weeks of college, it was rough again. I felt as though I left a huge
part of me behind,' he said. Leo then made a Facebook post on National Coming
Out Day speaking out about his sexuality.
'The support
I've gotten from my family, friends, peers, teachers, teammates and couches has
been unbelievable,' he said. 'It got better.'
Watch his story
below:
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