Like many teenagers struggling with homosexuality, the Internet opened up an amazing world. Then, in 1997, his parents bought a computer. From the time he was 11 and first realized he was "different" from other boys, Greg tried to suppress his feelings of attraction to the same sex. Some of that stress related to sexuality. Practices sucked, but playing was so much fun." "It was a great way to relieve all the stress. "I liked just going out, hitting, and not worrying about the consequences," Greg says of his love for football. He was a defensive end and center, though small for the latter position. He also played football, from Pee Wee to high school. Wrestling is big in Pennsylvania, and Greg enjoyed it for several years-at least until high school, when he felt pressured to drop his already-lean weight, 135 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame, to 119. Neil was an excellent wrestler at Troy High School, and when Greg was 10 he followed his dad's footsteps and joined the youth program. Greg's mother, JoAnn, a registered nurse, comes from Elmira his father, Neil, a construction-site job expediter, was born and raised right in Troy, where most of the Congdon family has always lived. The closest gay bar is in the "big city" of Elmira, N.Y. Most residents were born and raised in the area. A dairy-, pig-, and beef-farming community of about 1,200 in the northeast part of the state, it is a typical American small town. Greg's story begins in-and never really leaves-Troy, Pa. Greg says that its message must be heard by the many gay athletes who may think that because Corey came out to broad acceptance, even reverence, the coast is clear for everyone else to do the same. He is as firm as Corey in his determination that his story be told. He is just a year older than Corey, and lives only a couple of hundred miles away.
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Corey became an articulate spokesman for gay civil rights, hung out with senators and movie stars, and even appeared (wearing football pads and eye black) in an ad for the Mitchell Gold furniture company. On the bus home after a victory the players serenaded him with "YMCA" and "It's Raining Men" when he attended gay youth conferences and pride marches, they asked for souvenir T-shirts. Fellow players at Masconomet High School covered his back on the football field the few times opponents tried to taunt him, the team just played harder.
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With the full backing of his coaches, the Massachusetts high school football star came out to his teammates and received overwhelmingly strong support. Thanks to an insightful page one story in The New York Times, a positive portrayal on ABC's 20/20, and a passionate speech Corey gave at the Millennium March on Washington, the tale has achieved almost mythic proportions. From Jocks 2: Coming Out To Play (Alyson Publications, 2002)īy now, millions of Americans have thrilled to Corey Johnson's story.