Beyond Boundaries Screening & Discussion Series presents Alone in the Game (2018), a powerful documentary directed by Natalie Metzger and Michael Rohrbaugh that explores LGBTQ experiences in the world of sports, which continues to be an unsettling environment for many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans on and off the field. A panel discussion will follow. The film is free and open to the public.
Panelists include: Professor Susan Cahn, UB History Department; Blair Brown Lipsitz, head coach, UB Women's Volleyball; Ashley O'Brien, head coach, Buffalo State Women's Lacrosse.
Homophobia, transphobia, and a culture of secrecy strongly persist in American sports, often seen as the final frontier for LGBTQ equality. In the five major North American professional leagues - NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS - where statistically we would expect hundreds of openly gay athletes, there are no openly gay male professional athletes currently competing. Alone in the Game enters into the old boys' club world of sport and examines this major dilemma at the professional, Olympic, collegiate, and high school levels - capturing rarely seen stories of struggle, perseverance, and triumph.
Beyond Boundaries is sponsored by the Communication Department, Buffalo State Athletics, The Equity and Campus Diversity Office, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, and the Women and Gender Studies MInor.
