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Last week, I accepted the painful fact that for whatever reason a lot of my white UF friends refuse to embrace and/or support my Blackness and queerness.
Looking back, I accept that I was nothing more than the token sassy gay Black guy to many I thought were actual friends.
Tolerated, but never accepted or celebrated.
Tolerated, but never accepted or celebrated.
Sure, I was the life of the party everywhere I went. (I’m festive, duh) But it was at the sake of hiding my own identity to make others feel comfortable.
At the end of the day, I always knew in the back of my mind that if I was my true self I would never have the college experiences and “friendships” I so desperately wanted.
My goal at UF was to be the best athletic training student possible, and goddamnit, I did the damn thing and left my mark.
All this without ever publicly talking about the blatant racism & homophobia I experienced as an AT student @UFSportsHealth.
Staff and administration @UFSportsHealth would constantly use the word “professionalism” to critique me because they could never challenge my knowledge, skills and abilities.
When I worked with UF Track/Field, my one critique from @UFSportsHealth was that I talked too much and was too much of a “friend” than AT. This coming from a straight white man who literally texted athletes and talked negatively about athletes with coaches.
My time working with @GatorsSB was truly the most traumatic experience of my AT career, and the scars still stick with me today. Not because of the team - I loved those girls and am forever grateful to be apart of their first National Championship winning season.
It was toxic bc I had a racist/homophobic preceptor who made everyday a living hell for me. Her name was @Katie_D5. Feel free to ask her why she told coaches, players and managers to not communicate with me, in hopes that I would quit working with her. @GatorsSB @UFSportsHealth
I was belittled in front of athletes by @Katie_D5. She would go out of her way to not talk to me for as much as possible, despite being obligated in her job to teach and instruct me. She was too busy worried about being a “baseball wife” and getting the perfect fake tan. 
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Obviously I wasn’t trying to make it a big deal because I knew the queer black kid wouldn’t be listened to if I thought I wasn’t being treated fairly because of my racial identity or sexual orientation.
Eventually, it got back to administrationat @UFSportsHealth and wanna know what I was told?
To stop standing and using my hands when talking to women because it’s aggressive and can be perceived as an attack. (Yup, systemic racism at play here).
To stop standing and using my hands when talking to women because it’s aggressive and can be perceived as an attack. (Yup, systemic racism at play here).
As much as I didn’t want to confront it, I did schedule a meeting with @Katie_D5 to tell her how her ways of teaching made me feel less than. Her response was “that’s how I teach, if you don’t like it you can quit”. Maybe @UFSportsHealth could explain how that is appropriate.
