Slowly there have been a few athletes who have come out over the years, with just a handful while they are still competing in there sport. Today's Spotlight is a college athlete who came out not as gay, but as the NCAA’s first Div. 1 publicly transgender player. Today's Out Spotlight is Kye Allums.
Kye Allums is member of George Washington University's Women's basketball team. Allums was born female and originally named Kay-Kay Allums, however, he now identifies as a male and is currently playing the women's team.
Last year Allums chose to come out as a transgender male.
The 5'11" guard started over 20 games as a Sophomore for GW and was a starter for the team when he came. Speaking to the press after his story came out he said,"Yes, I am a male on a female team. And I want to be clear about this. I am a transgender male, which means feelings-wise, how it feels on the inside, I feel as if I should have been born male with male parts. But my biological sex is female, which makes me a transgender male."
George Washington University issued a statement of support the day after Allums went public in an article for Outsports. He spoke about himself and his decision a news conference the following.While still biologically a woman, he hopes to transition to a man but not until his playing eligibility is up after this 2011-2012 season. He cannot start hormone therapy or undergo surgery as long as he wants to stay on the women's team.
The question asked by so many was why not wait until then to tell the world?
"That's what my plan was," Allums said. "And then it just got too tough not to be me. I heard people call me a girl and say 'she' and refer to me as something that I wasn't."
He talked about feeling relief after coming out to teammates during his first two years of college, a year before going public.
When Allums came out he was supported and praised by his teammates and his coach. Then, Senior forward Ivy Abiona said the team supported Allums and praised him for "courage and fortitude.""We're a basketball family," his coach Mike Bozeman said. "And I just immediately felt like I needed to support Kye."
Allums' mom got the news from her child via e-mail. Kye said the e-mail took 15 minutes to compose but five hours to send.
His mother's reaction? "She said, 'I don't have to agree with your decision, but I'm always going to have your back. I'm your mother. … I'm always going to love you.' "
Growing up, Allums was a tomboy. The oldest of four kids, he would often say he was a boy despite being born a biological girl. Around 12, he realized that no other girls behaved or dressed the way he did, so he decided to go along with what the other girls his age did: Putting on make-up, wearing skirts and dresses. After just a year of putting up a feminine front, it was back to the tomboy clothes and wondering why he just didn’t fit in.
“I’ve always felt most comfortable dressing like a boy, but my mom would take all of my clothes from me and she’d force me to wear girl clothes. I’d bring sweats and basketball shorts and put them in my backpack.
I’d just change every day when I got to school, and I had to change back before I went home. It was annoying, but it was the only way I could go to school.”In high school, Allums met other people who acted and dressed like him: They were lesbians. So for the next few years Allums identified as lesbian, finally fitting into a group that he could define. But as time went on, despite their similarities, he realized he wasn't a lesbian either.
But it was after a heated text exchange with his mother during his freshman year at college, during which she referred to him as a "young lady", it clicked, Allums realized that he didn't identify as female, but rather, as male.
Afterwards, he began to identify himself as a transgender male, first to friends, teammates and teammates, then to his coach who he was concern wouldn't be supportive.
Back in June 2010 when coach tracked him down to talk about another issue it gave Allums the opportunity to talk about his transition. He explained, as best he could, that he was a man and had always been a man. The conversation was a bit tough at first but then the tone changed, when his coach told him:“Why would you think I wouldn’t have your back? I’ve had your back through everything. Our relationship has grown from nothing to this, and now you think I’d just turn my back on you because you told me this? No. I love you and I’ll always be here for you.”
At his press conference following him coming out, Allums spoke openly and "with disarming nonchalance" to the local and national news media outlets following the story. "It feels like a dream, actually."
Being realistic, he expected opposing fans to heckle him but he took it in stride saying "People are going to talk about me until the day I die."
Allums said that others struggling with similar issues have said thank you for sharing his story. "They're proud of me and that feels great."
Asked at the time which was more important: Winning games or inspiring others? "Winning games. And by winning games I hope I do inspire people."