Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball assistant coach Megan Pinske oozed confidence as she ran basketball warm up at practice on Thursday. The Team Canada alumnus can still sink a three pointer with ease, but there was a time where she didn’t feel entirely comfortable on the court.
“My first year in university, that’s when I started to realize or accept I was gay, but I wasn’t out. I remember I told a couple of people but was very very private about it,” said Pinske, who began her career at the University of British Columbia.
“A part of it is insecurity, are you going to be accepted, are people still going to like me?”
Before she came out, Pinske knew she wasn’t reaching her full potential as an athlete.
“There’s always a piece of you that you’re hiding. One of the really special things on a team, especially if you have that safe environment, is that you get to be, or you have the opportunity to be authentically yourself. There’s a bit of vulnerability in that. Knowing that I was closing off a part of myself, you feel a little bit disconnected,” Pinske added.
After transferringusin to Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., she decided to come out to her team, and it made a world of difference.
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“It felt like you could breath. There was this pressure off your entire body and it just being very freeing. The more people I told the more confidence I had too,” Pinske said.
The Huskies coach shares a similar experience to Saskatchewan alumnus and current Paralympic Basketball coach Katie Miyazaki. She also came out in university and now supports athletes in their journeys.
“I think that’s usually the biggest fear, is that you don’t think that you’re going to get the support and it might even turn on you,” said Miyazaki, who was a two-time USports defensive player of the year.
“Sometimes it would make me mad, or frustrated that they wouldn’t understand or that they were choosing to act a certain way.”
“That speaks more to them and not about who I am,” Pinske said of people who didn’t support her choice.
WATCH BELOW: Huskie Athletics’ ‘you can play’ initiative
In 2014, the Huskies Athletic Council voted for the University of Saskatchewan to become an official You Can Play project school. Friday night will mark the first time that the school is hosting an official You Can Play event run alongside varsity competition.
While the university mandates inclusivity, Pinske thinks everyone can be more aware of one thing.
“Inclusive language. Saying something like ‘partner’ or ‘date’ and not being so specific with ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’. I honestly don’t hear it too much anymore, but ‘oh that’s so gay,’ or just stuff like that. It’s little side comments and I know it’s never meant to harm, but it does,” Pinske said.
“Language is extremely powerful.”
While Pinske and Miyazaki hope their story encourages other athletes to feel comfortable coming out, they both recognize everyone has a unique journey.
“It can be a very empowering process. But you don’t have to tell people,” Pinske added.
The Huskies take on the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday and Saturday night, and Miyazaki encourages fans, athletes and coaches to focus on an athlete’s skill, work ethic and competitive spirit.
“Sport should be somewhere where you can be safe, it doesn’t really matter your sexual orientation, nor your race. As they say, if you can play, You Can Play!”
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