Kyle Hawkins
Encyclopedia
Kyle Hawkins is the head coach of the HTHC Hamburg Warriors lacrosse team and former head coach of the University of Missouri
Men's
Lacrosse
Club team. In May 2006, he discussed his sexual orientation
with several media outlets, including the New York Times and MSNBC.com
after having revealed to his university and team that he was gay
. In April 2007, the story again made media waves with an Associated Press
story featured on MSNBC.com. Hawkins was named the first openly gay man coaching an intercollegiate men's team sport by ESPN
.
suburb of Kirkwood. He attended Arizona State University
where he was the president of a Southern Baptist student group. After college, he spent time as a high school teacher where he began coaching its new lacrosse team.
in Columbia, Missouri
. As coach of the Mizzou lacrosse club, Hawkins compiled a 112-49 record in his first eight years of coaching the team, including a conference championship in 2004 that gave the team a berth to the league's national tournament.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17997188/ In 2004, he was selected as the coach of the year. Hawkins now identifies himself as an atheist .
On September 28, 2004, Hawkins joined the message boards at OutSports.com and made his first post, a 1,500-word anonymous message http://www.outsports.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9840&hl=frustrated, seeking advice and guidance as an in-the-closet college coach. Later that year, he revealed his until-then hidden homosexuality to his parents and family who disowned him. Immediately after revealing his sexual orientation to his family, he informed the university and the other coaches Missouri coaches. According to Hawkins, the university and his assistant coaches were supportive of his decision. The discussion continued for almost two years, until, on June 6, 2006, he finally posted under his real name and came out of the closet. The story was picked up by numerous national news agencies. The story again made headlines on April 7, 2007 when the Associated Press published a story detailing the after-effects of the original story.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17997188/
In 2006 the Mizzou lacrosse club had considered letting Hawkins go due to the team's declining performance; however, after Hawkins publicly revealed his sexual orientation, the lacrosse club decided not to move forward with dismissing Hawkins out of fear that the decision would have been perceived as a result of his sexual orientation. The club decided to keep Hawkins onboard for at least one additional year; however, his contract was renewed with the understanding that performance must be significantly improved. On May 4, 2007, Hawkins was informed that his contract would not be renewed for the 2007-2008 season after finishing the 2006-2007 season with a 6-9 record.
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
Men's
Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association
The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association is a national organization of non-NCAA, men's college lacrosse programs. The MCLA oversees game play and conducts national championships for over 200 teams in ten conferences throughout the United States and Canada...
Lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
Club team. In May 2006, he discussed his sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
with several media outlets, including the New York Times and MSNBC.com
Msnbc.com
msnbc.com is a news website owned and operated as a joint venture by NBCUniversal and Microsoft.In addition to original content from its news staff, msnbc.com is the news website for the NBC News family, with content from the cable television news channel MSNBC, NBC shows such as Today, NBC Nightly...
after having revealed to his university and team that he was gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. In April 2007, the story again made media waves with an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
story featured on MSNBC.com. Hawkins was named the first openly gay man coaching an intercollegiate men's team sport by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
Background
Hawkins was born in 1970 and brought up as a devout Southern Baptist in the St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
suburb of Kirkwood. He attended Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
where he was the president of a Southern Baptist student group. After college, he spent time as a high school teacher where he began coaching its new lacrosse team.
University of Missouri
After fours years at Hazelwood Central, Hawkins was hired as the head coach of the University of Missouri Men's Lacrosse Club. The Missouri lacrosse team is not a varsity athletic program, but rather a club team affiliated with the school. Their team has no scholarships, and the decision-making of the team rests largely on the shoulders of the players, not school administrators or coaches. While coaching the lacrosse club, Hawkins taught history at Hickman High SchoolHickman High School
David Henry Hickman High School is a coeducational public secondary school in Columbia, Missouri, United States, serving students in grades 10–12. The school is one of three high schools in the Columbia Public School District, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes...
in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
. As coach of the Mizzou lacrosse club, Hawkins compiled a 112-49 record in his first eight years of coaching the team, including a conference championship in 2004 that gave the team a berth to the league's national tournament.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17997188/ In 2004, he was selected as the coach of the year. Hawkins now identifies himself as an atheist .
On September 28, 2004, Hawkins joined the message boards at OutSports.com and made his first post, a 1,500-word anonymous message http://www.outsports.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9840&hl=frustrated, seeking advice and guidance as an in-the-closet college coach. Later that year, he revealed his until-then hidden homosexuality to his parents and family who disowned him. Immediately after revealing his sexual orientation to his family, he informed the university and the other coaches Missouri coaches. According to Hawkins, the university and his assistant coaches were supportive of his decision. The discussion continued for almost two years, until, on June 6, 2006, he finally posted under his real name and came out of the closet. The story was picked up by numerous national news agencies. The story again made headlines on April 7, 2007 when the Associated Press published a story detailing the after-effects of the original story.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17997188/
In 2006 the Mizzou lacrosse club had considered letting Hawkins go due to the team's declining performance; however, after Hawkins publicly revealed his sexual orientation, the lacrosse club decided not to move forward with dismissing Hawkins out of fear that the decision would have been perceived as a result of his sexual orientation. The club decided to keep Hawkins onboard for at least one additional year; however, his contract was renewed with the understanding that performance must be significantly improved. On May 4, 2007, Hawkins was informed that his contract would not be renewed for the 2007-2008 season after finishing the 2006-2007 season with a 6-9 record.
HTHC Hamburg
In February 2008 Hawkins was hired as head coach of the HTHC Hamburg Warriors of the German Lacrosse Association.See also
- List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered athletes
- Gay History
- Men's Collegiate Lacrosse AssociationMen's Collegiate Lacrosse AssociationThe Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association is a national organization of non-NCAA, men's college lacrosse programs. The MCLA oversees game play and conducts national championships for over 200 teams in ten conferences throughout the United States and Canada...
External links
News stories
- Hawkins is the new Headcoach of the HTHC Hamburg Warriors since Feb. 2008
- Having openly gay coach ‘awkward’ in Missouri
- Openly Gay coach faces fire
- Mizzou coach comes out
- Times are *a'changing
- Gay athletes still not accepted
- Homosexuality, sports, still *volatile mix
- Outsports.com thread in which Hawkins discussed his sexuality before coming out publicly
- 247Gay.com: Lacrosse’s Sexy Facelift on an Old Traditional Sport