out

As OUT TO WIN begins, the unmistakable thumping of “We Will Rock You” pounds out from the soundtrack. It’s a song about bravado and competitive fire. It’s a song that has indelibly ingrained itself into the very nature of sports – a song that has been played in stadiums and arenas around the world almost from the moment of its release.

And, of course, it’s a song sung by a gay icon.

OUT TO WIN is heavily fascinated by the story of Michael Sam. In 2014, Michael Sam was the reigning SEC Defensive Player of The Year and poised to be drafted into the NFL in the early rounds. At this moment – on the precipice of his professional career – Michael Sam informed the world that he was gay. Questions swirled. Had he hurt his career opportunities before they had presented themselves? Would teams pass on him because he “wouldn’t fit in the locker room”? Was the ultra-macho fandom and following of the National Football League “ready” for an out  homosexual player?

But while OUT TO WIN uses Sam’s story as its linchpin, it has deeper explorations than that in mind.

OUT TO WIN takes us into the past, it takes us through players in all four North American professional sports and introduces us to gay athletes. Almost all of them kept their sexual identities secret during their playing days, sometimes to the point of involving themselves in relationships with members of the opposite sex. However, as the years have gone on, the world of sports has s-l-o-w-l-y changed. In 2014, not long after Michael Sam shared his sexual orientation with the world, Jason Collins also came out and soon became the first openly gay NBA player.

What’s undeniable about this documentary is its immediacy. The film’s central pivot point – the Michael Sam story – is one that was unleashed just over twelve months ago. To spring into action with the news of Sam and create something that becomes such a comprehensive retrospective in just over one year is astounding. There is a brutally long way to go for gay athletes, but there’s no denying that 2014 seemed like a tipping point. Where once athletes would wait until after they had retired to come out (and even then – several years after they retired), Michael Sam’s decision became a rallying cry.

To encapsulate that rallying cry on-film as it is being sounded is something rare. Often the temptation is to let the dust settle, to see how the story played itself out before trying to retell it. However, OUT TO WIN understands that the story playing itself out isn’t the important part; it’s pushing others to become part of the story that is. It wants young gay athletes to know that they can be who they are, and put their focus on competing at an elite level. It wants fans to cheer as loudly and as passionately for them as they would any heterosexual athlete.

Perhaps most of all, OUT TO WIN wants to be a time capsule of this moment. It wants to one day be looked at the same way we regard The Jackie Robinson Story, and make us all wonder what in the world we as a society were ever thinking.