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<\/a>Keelin Godsey ’06 makes a point during the panel discussion “Economic Challenges, Social Justice and the Athletic Experience,” part of the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day program on Jan. 21, 2013. Panelists also included moderator Erica Rand, Whitehouse Professor of Art and Visual Culture and Women and Gender Studies; student athlete Jacqui Holmes ’13; and head squash coach Pat Cosquer ’97. Photograph by Mike Bradley\/Bates College.<\/p><\/div>\n
The most-decorated athlete in Bates history, a collegiate and national record-setter in the hammer throw, Godsey for years dreamed of competing on the U.S. Olympic team. He placed fifth at the U.S. track and field championships in 2010.<\/p>\n
But when it came time to raise money to train for the 2012 Olympic trials, the sponsors weren\u2019t as impressed.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Keelin Godsey ’06 was a prominent figure in Sports Illustrated’s feature on transgender athletes in its May 28, 2012 issue.<\/p><\/div>\n
Godsey believes that snub and his ongoing struggle to secure sponsorship resulted directly from his decision to compete as an out transgender man.<\/p>\n
He described \u201cthe unspoken rule” where “no one would ever tell me why I wasn\u2019t\u201d receiving bids from sponsors. \u201cBut I was also the only trans athlete willing to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godsey shared his story during a panel discussion about economic and social barriers to athletic participation, part of Bates\u2019 annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance.<\/p>\n
Joining Godsey were Pat Cosquer \u201997, head coach for men\u2019s and women\u2019s squash and former student-athlete, and Jacqui Holmes \u201913, a tennis player. Erica Rand, Whitehouse Professor in Art and Visual Culture and Women and Gender Studies, moderated.<\/p>\n
The panel, titled \u201cEconomic Challenges, Social Justice and the Athletic Experience,\u201d addressed the challenges faced by athletes from underrepresented backgrounds, many of whom find themselves competing against socioeconomic barriers throughout their careers.<\/p>\n
<\/a>This 2010 portrait shows squash coach Pat Cosquer ’97 and Cheri-Ann Parris ’13 of St. Philip, Barbados, the team’s co-captain in 2013. Cultural differences that create tension within a highly international and multicultural program like squash need to be addressed head-on, says Cosquer. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College.<\/p><\/div>\n
Cosquer spoke candidly about the diversity of athletes on the Bates squash teams, about half composed of multicultural or international students. \u201cI like to talk about \u2018one program\u2019 and how we\u2019re all together moving towards common goals of winning and educating and learning from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
But those cultural differences \u201ccreate some tension sometimes,\u201d he acknowledged.<\/p>\n
That is why Cosquer favors addressing those conversations head on, fostering understanding and unity.<\/p>\n
Holmes, who wrote her senior thesis on access and achievement in youth athletic programs, recalled coming face to face with her own racial and socioeconomic privilege while working at a youth tennis program last summer.<\/p>\n
The Boston-based program catered to urban youth and aimed to empower children through sport combined with academics. Holmes admitted to having a \u201chuge vision\u201d for changing these students\u2019 lives in just a few months.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d she said, \u201cthat wasn\u2019t what they wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
She came to realize that, as an outsider in their community, \u201cI was there not only to teach them something that\u2019s really important for me, but also for them to teach me about what\u2019s important to them, and what they felt they wanted to accomplish and what success was to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>For Bates tennis player Jacqui Holmes ’13, a reality check came when her “huge vision” for her summer tennis clinic failed to align with what her students really wanted.<\/p><\/div>\n
The panel followed the premiere of Bates\u2019 You Can Play<\/em> video, part of a national program<\/a> to increase safety and inclusion for LGBT athletes.<\/p>\n In the video, Bates student athletes affirm in a variety of forms and languages the same core message: \u201cIf you can play, you can play.\u201d<\/p>\n That is, teams want talent regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n