High School Coach, Fired For Being Gay, Speaks Out

Check out this great interview with Mitch Stein by Kergan Edwards-Stout.  Mitch was an assistant coach of junior varsity water polo, and was fired after a parent (who'd never met him) complained about some facebook photos Mitch had posted that showed him hanging out with drag queens.

I love what Mitch's daughter (who goes to the school where he'd coached and then been fired for being gay) said to her dad when he asked if she wanted to change schools,

"Dad, I don't want to change schools. And besides, if we change schools, they win."

and then Mitch said,

"That's when it clicked in my head that we needed to fight this."

Inspiring...

Wishing Mitch and his family good fortune with the suit (and with their newly adopted baby!) and hoping he'll be back coaching at the school next year!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - there's even a petition you can sign to tell the school to re-hire Mitch here!

Hate the Gays? Imagine the World without us. (Or, what to say the next time you encounter someone homophobic.)

I really liked this Huffington Post article by Kergan Edwards-Stout, "Hate The Gays?  Imagine the World Without Us."


I particularly liked Kergan's big-picture question to those who marinate in homophobic hostility... 

"What do you hope these beliefs will achieve?"

Do they really support harassment?  Bullying?  Conversion Therapy (which has been proven not to work)?   Are they hoping we all go back into the closet?  They're creating a climate where GLBTQ teen suicides continue... is that their goal?

And then Kergan asks, imagine the world without the contributions of queer artists, musicians, playwrights, actors, filmmakers.  A world without the Mona Lisa's smile.  Or Swan Lake.  Or Glee.

"What do you hope your anti-gay beliefs achieve?"

That's my question the next time I'm talking to someone homophobic. 

Thanks, Kergan!

Namaste,
Lee