Jack Thorne talks recruiting trips as an openly gay athlete

Jack Thorne, a swimmer in Colorado and soon to be Divison 1 NCAA athlete, took the time to write about the recruiting process as an openly gay athlete. Here is what he had to share:

            I like to think that I approached the recruiting process like any other athlete did. I was nervous about the team liking me, me liking the team, the coaches, the location, and 50 other things, well 51 actually. Most kids going through this process don’t have to worry about how their sexuality is going to influence their recruiting experience. Throughout recruiting I was very cognizant of the fact that the coaches and the team could know that I was openly gay. I had one coach bring it up to me and he was incredibly positive. On my trips I was also very aware of the fact that I was out. I also realized that while I was “out”, I was not necessarily out to the team or the coaches.

Going on my four recruiting trips there were a few things that I looked for in the schools. I looked for out members on the team, I looked for a school that had a positive and inclusive environment, I looked for a team that didn’t use homophobic slurs, one that treated it’s out participants no differently than any other member of the team. One of the things that I thought was most important was how the team interacted with each other and with those of them who were out.  My team here in colorado treats me the exact same way they did before I came out, the few slurs they were using stopped almost instantly. I wanted a team environment like that, I wanted one where I can come onto the team and be myself. Being on a team where I felt like I had to hide again would be miserable, I want to be able to have my boyfriend at team events and at meets and not have to worry that we would be treated differently. I wanted a team that would judge me based on my personality and work ethic rather than who I was with romantically.

 All four of the schools I had to choose between had some involvement with the LGBT community. Wisconsin and now Penn State both work with You Can Play, which, to me, said something about the school, the staff, and the students. At the Wisconsin football game, there was an ad on the big screen for You Can Play and some of the swimmers had rainbow buttons on their backpacks. Being in this environment helped me realize that If I went there I would most likely be accepted. There were similar experiences at the other three schools, either a swimmer made a positive comment to or about someone who was LGBT, or someone who said a slur was called out on it. These all made me feel like I would be part of a great team.

To sum everything up, I looked for a school where I thought I’d be happy and healthy. I still looked at everything else an athlete needs to look at from the food, to the weight room, to the location. The only thing added into that mix was that I was looking for an inclusive team that would accept me for who I am and wouldn't treat me any differently than they would if I were straight.