Student athletes and coaches in the
athletics department at New York University have created an It Gets
Better video.
The It
Gets Better Project encourages bullied LGBT teens considering
suicide to hang in there, because life eventually gets better.
NYU student Jay Hayes directed and
starred in the nearly 3-minute video.
“I know I can achieve anything I can
set my mind on doing, and I can do that while being out, and being
proud of who I am,” Hayes said in the video.
He added in an interview with NYU
Local: “Athletics is the next frontier for gay rights. When
you look at the civil rights movement, it wouldn't have been as
successful if a person like Jackie Robinson hadn't been there. I
really hope that a gay athlete comes out soon. I think that
professional sports these days are just a business and these players
know that it could hurt the brand and the bottom line if they come
out.”
The video also includes Jolie Ward,
head women's volleyball coach at NYU, and Scott Donie, the school's
assistant swimming and diving coach.
“I've been a coach for 14 years. I'm
the proud mother of a beautiful baby girl. And I'm in a committed
relationship for six years,” Ward said in the video. “I'm gay
and I'm proud of who I am.”
“Too often, people are bullied for
their sexual orientation or their perceived sexual orientation,”
Donie said. “As a diver and an athlete, this is something I
experienced growing up.” (The video is embedded in the right panel
of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)