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The campaign involved Johnson's parents, teachers and coaches,Īs well as a gay educational agency, all encouraged by the administration of a school with a long history of diversity training. Their reactions were critical in the risky, uncharted, carefully planned campaign to bring out of his increasingly claustrophobic closet an American icon, the hard-hitting football hero. "More than being teammates we're your friends and we know you're the same person."Ĭorey Johnson defied a high school sports stereotype while being a football co-captain.
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Jim Whelan, the artist, said he looked into Johnson's eyes and saw a need for instant support. Merrill said he decided to take it onĪs a challenge, a test of the captaincy the two shared and a test of his own character.
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Big, steady Dave Merrill quietly absorbed the almost physical shock, then began worrying if the revelation would divide the team. Starting linebackers responded characteristically. By ROBERT LIPSYTE IDDLETON, Mass., April 29 - When Corey Johnson told teammates on the Masconomet High School football team last spring that he was gay, the two other