Love is Love is Love

My article in the June issue of Squash Magazine on Jenny Duncalf & Rachael Grinham probably got as much global attention as any feature I have done in the past twenty years.

Love is Love is Love: Jenny Duncalf & Rachael Grinham—Champions On Court, Pioneers Off Court

With the help of Laurelle Holley and Chris McClintick at US Squash, Nathan Clarke at the PSA and Howard Harding at the World Squash Federation, the story went viral. For a couple of days it was trending pretty high in social media: thousands of retweets and likes and shares and impressions.  Jenny and Rachael did interviews. Articles started to appear.

PSA: https://psaworldtour.com/news/view/4768/duncalf-grinham-become-first-openly-gay-professional-squash-players-after-revealing-relationship

Pink News: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/05/26/world-squash-champions-come-out-as-gay-and-reveal-they-are-a-couple/

 

What was most gratifying, saddening and inspiring were two responses from other gay squash players. It was so powerful to read Jonathan MacBride-Young in Edinburgh writing about how long he had waited for a professional player to come out. “I have played squash for twenty-eight years. It’s my sport. I love it. I play, I coach, I referee, I encourage others to play my sport. I didn’t have a role model for me as a gay man in squash. Today I do.”

He also had the best line: “Just like the buses, you wait ages for one to come along and then two come along at once.”

http://leapsports.org/blog/world-squash-a-journey-to-diversity

 

The other response was from Alexia Clonda, the Australian former world No.5:

The Fear of Coming Out: Alexia Clonda reveals the pain she endured on tour