Anthony Castro

I was reading an article on Towleroad about Anthony Castro. I first read about Anthony on Outsports (which if you have never visited before, you should do so now, then come back) Anthony was a 19 year old athlete who died in a car accident on January 21. At 19 years old he had a bright future ahead of him. Jim Buzinski at Outsports tells this story:



“My favorite Anthony story involves his senior year of wrestling. A fellow wrestler used to make snide homophobic remarks to Anthony.



Rather than file a complaint with the school, Anthony addressed the problem head on – he challenged the wrestler to a put-up-or-shut-up match. It didn't take very long, as Anthony had the guy pinned in about 20 seconds. That stopped the heckling and Anthony told me the guy quit the team.”

LZ Granderson from ESPN The Magazine and 360 wrote a tribute to Anthony on “Page 2” of espn.com:

“A four-year starter for the Banning High Broncos when the team's starting quarterback was ruled academically ineligible, Anthony, a 6-foot, 210-pound fullback, volunteered to take his place. He had never played the position before, but that didn't stop the Broncos' captain from making all-conference.

Anthony was also captain of the swim team, a member of the wrestling squad and part of the yearbook staff. Despite his being the big man on campus, freshmen felt comfortable enough around him to ask for help if they were being bullied by other upperclassmen. Teachers loved him, and the girls adored him.

I wanted to link to the stories and give a little background on Anthony before I went into detail on why I am posting about someone I have never met in my life. When I read the first story on Outsports, I teared up. Anthony is someone that had so much courage to come out as a student athlete as a sophomore in high school. I have been thinking about this post, re-writing it and spending a lot of time on it because it has been something that has been on my mind.

As a sophomore in high school, I came out to two of my best friends, John and Chris while on a school trip. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like, or how different my life would be right now that if I had kept that courage and come out to my parents and football team. This young man Anthony sounded like a leader and all around good person in the making. Who knows, he could have become the first openly gay athlete drafted into the NFL.

With exception to the guys that I had hooked up with, I am not out to anyone that I played football with in high school. There is part of me that wants to when I see any of them.

I feel really bad for his boyfriend, Cody Mariscal. According to news reports, Cody was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence in the death of Cody and another passenger.

Anyway, at some point during your day, take a little time to think about Anthony and say a prayer for him.