Kick It Up A Notch
by Jeff Kagan
Imagine if you will that its 1985 and you are
a member of one of the few LGBT sports leagues that exist at that time. You
have a special bond with your teammates—10 friends who you would do anything
for, people who you have grown to love, and who are as close to you as members
of your own family. Then one day, half of them get very sick. And within a few
months to a year, they’re gone, wiped out by a horrific new disease that is
tearing through the community.
For Lee
Smith, 25, that scenario was something which may have happened before he
was born. It is difficult to fully understand the magnitude of what life was
like for a gay man at that time. Lee was lucky to have missed the fear and
sadness that so deeply affected the previous generation of the gay community.
And having only a very young circle of friends, Lee wasn’t exposed to the
gloomy stories of the recent past.
A year ago, Lee decided it was time to get in
shape and try something new. He was looking for a good reason to smoke fewer
cigarettes and he thought back to his overly athletic childhood. He had played
just about every sport available to him back then, but the one that stayed with
him through high school was soccer. However, as is all too often the case,
Lee’s sexual orientation played a role in diminishing his interest in sports. “I
wasn’t completely out in high school, and the idea of being gay and being an
athlete did not occur on same plane,” he says. “In college, I had zero interest
in anything physical. I went to the gym on campus twice, and thought, ‘I just
don’t belong here.’”
Lee put down his cigarette one day, and out
of curiosity he Googled “gay soccer”. He had never dreamed that gay sports
organizations existed, but his web browser had enlightened him with a link for
the New York Ramblers Soccer Club.
And with a little encouragement, before he knew it, he was back on the soccer
field. “I was extremely terrified to attend my first practice, but with my big
sister urging me on, I finally joined. Now, almost a year later, I’m active on
the board of directors of the club, acting as secretary and membership
officer.” he says.
Lee made many new friends—of all ages—as the
age range of the players on the Ramblers runs from 18 to 60. He'd never had
older friends, let alone older gay
friends. They told him first-hand stories about their lives 25 years ago when
the AIDS epidemic began to reveal itself. Lee gained a lot of perspective and
began to understand the crisis and how it socially affected the community.
These conversations really opened his eyes and inspired him to do something. Lee
worked with teammate Chris D'Olimpio
to organize an AIDS Walk New York team
for the Ramblers. They’ve raised over $1,000 so far and hope to go even further
before the walk this Sunday, May 20th in Central Park. The 6.2 mile walk has raised over $122
million since 1981 for Gay Men’s Health
Crisis (GMHC) and other AIDS service organizations in the tri-state area.
“I think for a lot of people in my
generation, events like the AIDS Walk
are a way to acknowledge that we are thinking about the disease,” Lee says. “We
are thinking about people that have had a much more traumatizing experience
with the disease.” He and his younger friends support their HIV+ peers and
teammates as they do their part to support the efforts to end new infections,
maximize treatment and find a cure.
Lee is very happy with the team, which is
like a family to him. And the Ramblers have helped him bridge an enormous gap
between closeted life in high school and college to gay life in New York City. “I
make jokes to my college friends that I am now a jock and a muscle queen—okay,
maybe not quite!” he says. “But in all actuality, I do feel that I’ve made
peace with two aspects of my identity that have always felt quite distant.”
