While the U.S. and the world at large are making major strides when it comes to standing up to homophobic prejudice, there’s still a lot of work to be done. That’s why the seventh-grade football team at one Hillsboro, TX middle school decided to do something truly incredible to spread the message of tolerance: They published a calendar featuring photos of the whole team in the buff!
“All of us on the Tigers were inspired to do something about homophobia, and what better way than through this calendar?” said 12-year-old quarterback Jason Clifford, who appears as February’s model wearing nothing but a straw cowboy hat. “All of the money goes to organizations that combat homophobia, so it’s for a good cause.”
Wow. Truly inspiring.
According to the players involved, putting together the calendar was a real team effort. Everyone on the team suggested poses and costumes, and the results are awesome: human pyramids, cops and robbers—even shots of a full-contact football game that was played in the nude just for the calendar. The boys even had the idea to add important dates in LGBT history to the calendar, which is all the more amazing when you remember that these are kids who are just barely hitting puberty!
“So far, we’ve sold over 20,000 copies in our community alone,” Jason said. “It’s just exciting to think of all the dialogue this calendar is creating. And all we had to do was take our clothes off.”
So cool! It’s truly remarkable to see young people like these seventh-graders set their minds to making a difference in such a creative way.
