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Denver’s Gay & Lesbian Flag Football League Offers Acceptance

Denver’s Gay & Lesbian Flag Football League Offers Acceptance

Imagine a Denver sports league where community through sport, and not competition, is the focus. Where the structure of the league, the sponsored social events, and the mission is the building of friendships — not dynasties. Where your best effort often gets the loudest cheer, and you’re not judged by the color of your jersey, but by the content of your character. Can you imagine it? We know we can. We’ve even seen it. Or perhaps this idea that a sports league can help to make the world a more open and accepting place sounds a little wacky.

After all — for many LGBTQ individuals — community is the last thing that comes to mind when the word ‘sports’ is mentioned. Perhaps sports to you means “toxic masculinity” or a “skill-based hierarchy used only to exclude.” You might think of a particularly painful and adversarial loss. You might recall the body shaming, or slut shaming, or bullying by a teen in a varsity letter jacket. These are not only your experiences. These are our community’s shared experiences, the experiences of our league’s founders then, and our leadership now. This inform and guide us, but they are not the experiences we create in our league.

We opened with an alternate vision of community through sport. It is a lofty vision, one that can be difficult to live up to. Has it come fully to fruition? We don’t know … probably not. But here is what we do know: for the better part of 9 years there has been a community supporting the Denver Gay and Lesbian Flag Football League (DGLFFL) with the hope of making this vision a reality. Our league has grown and changed, but it has always kept the idea of community through sport at its core.

We’re the DGLFFL and it’s nice to meet you. We don’t know where you’re from, what you do, or if you have ever played a sport, but we hope you’ll consider joining our community. Regardless of your skill level, sex, gender, body type, income, athleticism, or sexual orientations — if you are willing to respect the members of this community — we have a place for you here.

You see since our league’s founding, the DGLFFL has been for many of us, an inspiration and a source of hope. For the newly out, it has provided instant community; it has helped more than a dozen teammates to embrace their curiosity, help answer their questions, and support them through their struggles. For the new player,it’s given a place of encouragement and learning. For league veterans, it offers a beautiful community with geographical, racial, athletic, educational, socioeconomic, and sexual diversity. Just ask the league’s biggest fans — our straight allies.

PS. you can find them on the field!

Authors: Becky Lee and Alexander Lundy are on the Board of the DGLFFL and serve as the Commissioner and Director of Communications/Outreach (respectively). They can be reached at: Outreach@DGLFFL.com

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