Brad is a 16-year-old high school sophomore in the Pacific northwest. He runs for his school’s cross-country and track teams and is gay. He plans to attend college, major in either pre-med or international relations and be a competitive athlete.
I can vouch for Brad’s identity and that is his picture. I have seen his ID, spoken several times via Skype webcam and exchanged numerous texts and messages on Facebook. But I am not including his last name in this post for a reason — Brad, along with his friends Robert and Ben, themselves gay high school athletes — are about to launch a blog to talk about their lives and connect with others like them. I want them to come out publicly on their own terms when the blog starts (they hope within the week).
Brad shared with me the coming out letter he wrote last month to his parents. I was moved reading it and felt Outsports readers would feel the same. Except for omitting specific names of his friends, the text has not been changed: (More at link)
http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2011/01/03/gay-teen-athletes-coming-out-letter-to-parents/