Today’s Out Spotlight is an advocate, policy attorney andspeaker. He remains the only former NCAA football captain to have ever comeout, and is one of the most notable collegiate athletes to do so in any sport. In 2012, he was selected as the Democraticnominee for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the solidly Democratic182nd district and will be the first openly-gay state legislator in the historyof the Pennsylvania General Assembly in November. Today’s Out Spotlight is Brian Sims.
Brian K. Sims was born September 16, 1978 in WashingtonD.C., the son of two Army Lieutenant Colonels. An Army brat he lived in seventeen states before settling inPennsylvania during his teens in the early 1990s. He attended Bloomsburg University, inBloomsburg, Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in 2001.
At Bloomsburg, Sims play NCAA Division II football and in 2000,he was the co-captain of the university’s football team, and was recognized asa scholar athlete. At the time Bloomsburg, was experiencing its greatestfootball season in its history. That’s when Sims, senior captain and defensivetackle of the Division II school, decided to share his personal story with histeammates.“I never planned to come out to my team, but I knew theywould find out.” ….“I lived with them. I didn’t date and I was a hardcorefeminist.”
"I knew it was going to happen, I just didn't know howor when, I feared it would change the dynamic in the locker room. You'respending four or five hours a day with your friends, and that's what I playedfor. I cared that my team would still be comfortable around me. I was concernedthat in the locker room guys would be uncomfortable around me.”
He came out to one teammate after a frat jello wrestling event at another nearby college.
There was no team meeting to announce it, or big announcement, it just happened over time. As his teammates found out one by one, in the locker room no one moved awayfrom Sims. No one shied away from him. His being gay became just more fodderfor locker room teasing, like someone's fat mom. Sims said he also became thedumping ground for every question his teammates had about gay people.
"Straight guys tend to be the most curious about sex,in general, my team asked me everything you can possibly ask a gay guy aboutsex, and in the crudest terms possible."
His teammates, responded in a way he never expected. “Theyall thought something was going to happen to me. They protected me,and I was honored. I never got that negative backlash.” Each player found some time to talkindividually with him. They apologized for jokes they cracked that may haveoffended him. “They were mortified,” he said. “They were worried I didn’tconsider them as good friends as they considered me. And that wasn’t true; theyare my best friends.”He never heard a single negative comment about his sexualityfrom his teammates.
In coming out, Sims, the regional All-American and teamcaptain, became the only openly gay college football captain in NCAA history.
After graduating from Bloomsburg, Sims went on to earn anJ.D. Degree in International and Comparative Law at the Michigan StateUniversity School of Law in 2004. Hethen came back to East to start his law career, working as a disabilityattorney representing disabled professionals and also worked as the Senior LawClerk at the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s Washington office where he focusedon state and municipal compliance and enforcement.He then went on to become Staff Counsel for Policy andPlanning at the Philadelphia Bar Association. During his time at the Bar Association,he worked with attorneys, legislators and community organizations on issuesranging from gender and pay inequity to environmental regulation.
In 2009, Sims joined the faculty of the Center forProgressive Leadership and the National Campaign Board of The Victory Fund and hasalso served as the President of Equality Pennsylvania, and as the Chairman ofthe Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia (GALLOP), until he stepped downfrom both organizations in 2011 to pursue his political aspirations. He continues to serve on the GLSEN Sports Advisory Council,is a contributor to The Advocate Magazine, and has written for The NationalJurist, The New Jersey Law Journal, The Legal Intelligencer, Law.com, ThePhiladelphia Bar Reporter, M.D News Magazine, HRC Back Story, OutSports.com,Yahoo Sports and Compete Magazine. Additionally, he was selected as one of theTop 40 LGBT Attorneys Under 40 in the United States by the National LGBT BarAssociation in 2010. He lecturesregularly about the policy and legal challenges facing the LGBT civil rightsmovement and is a regular lecturer at the Center for Progressive Leadership.
In 2011, he announced his intentions to run for thePennsylvania House of Representatives, 182nd District and received theendorsement of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. The district located in Center City and SouthPhiladelphia represents the neighborhoods: “Rittenhouse, Fitler and LogansSquares, the Gayborhood, and parts of Washington Square West, Bella Vista,Graduate Hospital and Grays Ferry.”
After a running a campaign heavy on direct mail anddoor-knocking he beat long-time incumbent Democrat Babette Josephs, Sims wonthe Democratic Primary this April. Sincethere is no Republican challenger in the November 2012 election, Sims willbecome the first openly-gay state legislator in the history of the PennsylvaniaGeneral Assembly.
Brian Sims remains the only former NCAA football captain tohave ever come out, and is one of the most notable collegiate athletes to do soin any sport.