Football has given New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders a lot, including two Super Bowl rings during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs. Recognizing the platform he’s been given, Saunders wants to give back, and he’s using experiences from some of the most important people in his life as inspiration for his newest venture.
Saunders has created a first-of-its-kind youth football camp, designed specifically for children in the LGBTQ+ community. Saunders’ older brother, Kameron Saunders — a dancer and choreographer who’s appeared in Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour — is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a major influence in Khalen’s quest to end the stigma around those in the community and sports.
Khalen’s “actions speak louder than words” motto is on fully display at Saturday’s camp in St. Louis, his hometown, as he aims to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all in the sports world. The DT has heard locker room talk that creates “very toxic heterosexual climates” and credits ignorance for many not realizing how their use of slurs can be offensive to other people.
The 2019 third-round pick wants to “create a safe space within sports to have everybody feel welcome to be who they are,” adding that his intention is to “unify everybody and just promote positivity and empathy amongst others as far as just being accepting of everybody and showing everybody love.”
Kameron has attended most of Khalen’s games throughout his life, and has been a window for Khalen to see how important it is to make all feel welcome in athletics.
“With my brother, being able to come to all my events and feel comfortable being himself, I would want anybody who has a brother or family member in general that comes to their sporting events to feel safe and welcomed when they when they attend that,” Khalen said, via CNN.
According to a report from The Trevor Project, some LGBTQ+ youth said they were “choosing not to participate in sports due to reasons related to discrimination or fear of LGBTQ-based discrimination.”
Khalen says the camp is a way for young people to fuel their love for football and do so with others like them, in an environment that accepts them.
“This is an opportunity to kind of just showcase the thinking pattern that I have, just as far as being empathetic and treating people how you want to be treated and all those quote unquote ‘golden rules’ that we learn as children, we kind of stray away from when we get to adulthood,” Khalen said.
How someone identifies doesn’t impact their athleticism Khalen emphasizes, saying, “ability is ability.”
“I think that the space within sports for LGBTQ+ members, it’s very limited and I understand that which is why I’m trying to hold this camp and try and promote positivity around that,” Khalen said. “If you got it, you got it. And I’ve seen great athletes be shied away for several reasons. I would just not want gender identification or sexual orientation to be one of those reasons.”
Not all reactions to this camp have been positive. While many children are grateful they have this safe space and many adults have reached out saying they wish they had something like this when they were young, others have responded with hate.
“[The camp is] a way to make sure that everyone knows that they have a place in this world and everyone knows that they have a place specifically within sports because that’s what this camp is all about. It’s just showing acceptance and really just doing all of this for the love of the sport itself, not for anything else,” Khalen said.
Khalen hopes to be able to help people who disagree with his messaging to be more openminded.
“Let’s break that [cycle] and educate our children. That way they know the differences, they know the feelings, they know everything,” he said. “And then we can progress towards a better society, instead of creating division and hate amongst things that could easily be out ruled by simple education.”
