“Has anyone ever heard of DJ D V L N?” He struggled to pronounce the name.
“It’s pronounced ‘DJ Devlin,’” a player interjected. “And he’s dope! I’ve got some of his songs in my warmup playlist. And my lady loves him.”
“Oh, that’s that homo DJ, right?” Said another player from the back of the room
Coach's eyes snapped to the player the comment had come from.
“Hey! None of that shit!” he growled.
The 49ers were one of the most inclusive and supportive teams in the league. Obviously, being in San Francisco, they welcomed and accepted the LGBTQ+ community. They allowed San Francisco’s gay flag-football team to use the facility each week for their practices, and regularly held drag brunches and other fundraising events for LGBTQ+ charities. Coach Shepherd wasn't going to tolerate any hateful rhetoric from his players.
“Yes, he’s the gay DJ." Coach acknowledged. "He wants to use us in his next music video,” he continued. “The front office agreed to let them come and film at the end of one of our practices next week. They will film some of our scrimmage and special teams drills. He also would like some individual players to participate in the filming. Now, we’re not going to force anyone, but any of you want to volunteer to be in the video?”
The room was silent for a while. Colton decided to get the ball rolling and raised his hand. “I’ll do it. I’ve always wanted to be in a music video. It will be fun.”
Bryce Parker, the team’s starting quarterback, chimed in, “Me too. I’m in”
Then the tight end, Greg Kirschner, also piped up. “I’m in.”
And finally, Neil Byrd, a defensive tackle, offered as well. “I’ll do it. It’ll be hot to be in a music video.”
“Right…so we have Merrick, Parker, Kirschner, and Byrd,” Coach said. ”Anyone else?”
The question was met with silence. No one else came forward. “All right. Dismissed.”
Most of the team headed to their lockers and went about their business without a second thought. But Colton overheard a couple of his teammates making derogatory, even hateful, remarks about this DJ DVLN. Simply because he’s gay, he’s immediately the object of hatred and ridicule.
Colton had been raised in a devout Christian family, but his parents never taught them to hate. "Love thy neighbor andjudge not, lest ye be judged"was the family motto. Over the years, Colton sort of fell out of the whole religious thing, but he never forgot those core values taught during his childhood.
When Colton was in middle school, playing junior varsity football, his coaches had recognized his long-term potential. He was allowed to practice with the varsity team once or twice a week, to nurture his burgeoning skills.
It was also when he had been introduced to the nastiness of high school bullies.
Being in seventh grade, Colton was teased by the older guys on the team from the start, but the teasing was lighthearted, as Colton was a member of the club, a fellow football player. He was initiated into the football brotherhood with a little teasing and razzing, but he was welcome from the start.
Charlie Westbrook hadn't been so lucky.
Colton knew Charlie because they went to the same church and he was in the church choir.
He also played in the marching band and orchestra at school, which may have been the ‘problem’. The band practiced at the same time as the football team, but on the adjacent field. From day one, a group of senior players homed in on poor Charlie.
At first, the taunting was just vocal, calling him ‘Charlene’ instead of Charlie, and teasing him for playing the clarinet, which must not have been a manly enough instrument in their minds.
After a couple of weeks, though, the harassment became physical, and happened throughout the day, not just during practice.
Colton saw how much the teasing and bullying bothered Charlie. He tried his best to be friendly with Charlie, speaking to him at church, and even waving and speaking to him during practice. Charlie seemed to appreciate the gestures, always smiling sweetly as he engaged in their conversations.
One day, the senior boys took things too far. Colton only heard about it after the fact during practice, since his school was in a different building. The seniors had cornered Charlie at his locker between classes. One of the boys knocked his books onto the floor as they taunted him with homophobic names and remarks. Charlie tried to push past them to flee, but the boys shoved him forcefully into his locker and slammed the door shut, laughing as they walked away.
When Charlie finally got out, he had bruises on his neck and body and a dislocated shoulder from the force of which he'd been pushed into the tiny space.
Charlie’s parents had been livid. He’d reported the bullying multiple times but nothing was done. After all, football players were held to a different standard. Charlie’s parents sued the school and pressed charges against the boys involved.
The ‘it was just boys being boys, having a bit of fun’ argument sank the case like a lead balloon. Charlie’s parents won their case against the school and all the players were suspended. One player even lost his college scholarship because of the huge amount of negative press the story caused.
Charlie transferred to another school, but Colton still saw him at church, and Charlie seemed genuinely happier at his new school.
After the incident, and the subsequent fallout surrounding it, Colton’s parents had sat him and his brothers down for a family meeting. His mother explained there were people who looked different, spoke different languages, practiced different religions, and loved different people, and all those people were equal in the eyes of God. One should always be loving, compassionate, and accepting, and never judge, belittle, or bully anyone because they’re different from you. It was something that had stuck with Colton throughout his adult life.
