Last week sprint athlete Connor Taras' coming out as a gay man was covered by many Canadian media outlets and received numerous positive reactions from the canoe sprint community. Rob van Bommel from Sportscene contacted Connor to ask him about his coming out and homosexuality in paddlesports.  

Rob - How were the reactions when you announced the news of your coming out?

Connor - The reactions have been overwhelming to say the least. I am still trying to digest it all. I have received lots of messages of support from not only within in Canada, but all over the world. Not one negative comment. The majority of those have been from the athletes and members of our sprint community. Most people were really glad that I was finally happy, and able to be myself. There have been lots of messages expressing the impact I am having on sport, which is also very touching. It’s also been very nice to see the outreach from strangers who just want to pass on their own personal stories and/or their words of support as well.

The media has had a huge interest as well, which has all been very positive!

Did you expect to receive a positive response or were you afraid of what the canoe sprint community might think?

It might be the most difficult thing I’ve had to do in my life. I built up this scenario for years of what it might be like to come out. All the “what ifs” and fears of rejection were amongst the contributing factors. I had an incredible fear of the unknown. When I first came out to a small group of my close friends and family back in November of 2013, everyone was so supportive. I felt like the world was lifted off my shoulders. So I knew when I came out publicly, I had the support of those people. But I was still afraid of how the canoe sprint community might react. Again it just goes back to the fear of the unknown. I think back to it now, all the scenarios I made up in my head, it makes me angry because I don’t know how I let myself believe those thoughts. 

Are there prejudices you think in our community concerning homosexuals? If so, what are these and what is your own perspective on these prejudices.

I think there are prejudices in our sport, but not anymore than any other sport. I think it just comes down to the stereotypical views we have of what an athlete should be. I don’t think being homosexual is in that mental image we have of an athlete. For years I played part to those prejudices while trying to hide from being homosexual. So I can say that from my own perspective. I tried to be straight.

The news was quite big in the Canadian media. Did you decide to approach them or how did it go?

Yes, there has been a lot of attention in the last few days. I think it speaks to the dramatic change happening in sport right now, which is really exciting.

There was a question and answer session held in Toronto, Canada during World Pride 2014 in June. An organization called, You Can Play, put it on. You Can Play (http://youcanplayproject.org/) , is an organization dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regards to sexual orientation.  I reached out to one of the speakers at the event who works with the Canadian Olympic Committee. I happened to reach out to him via Twitter and from there he got me in contact with You Can Play. Together they arranged a few trusted journalists to write my story and from there story went public with Outsports.com and The Toronto Star. Immediately following the release, other news outlets became interested.

What stereotypes are there in (paddle) sports concerning homosexuality do you think?

Like previously explained, I think it’s more an issue with the stereotypes of what an athlete (paddler) should be. I can only speak to my experience, but I think the stereotype is that everyone is straight. There’s a preconceived notion that homosexuals aren’t in sport. In my opinion, this is because no one has really ever experienced it in (paddle) sports. There has not been many out athletes. It’s a topic we have never discussed in sport.

Canoe sprint and paddlesports are a male dominated sport. Do you think that the (international) canoe sprint community is an easier or more difficult environment to be homosexual (compared to other sports)? And why?

This is something I haven’t really thought about, but Canoe Sprint and paddle sports are non-disputably a male dominated sport. I would say it definitely adds to the struggle of being homosexual. Comparing it to other sports, do I think it is any harder? No. Being homosexual in sport, like I said, is just something that hasn’t been present, or at least been discussed. 

Do you experience regional (continental) differences in how our community perceives homosexuality?

I definitely think there are regional and continental differences in how our community perceives homosexuality. It was one of my fears actually going public with this and having my international friends find out. This extends beyond sport and pertains to how homosexuality is perceived culturally in different countries.

As a sport (paddling) community, I think for the most part we are all diverse. Sport is powerful and produces not only great athletes but creates extraordinary individuals. I think that this day in age, members of our community don’t care what your sexuality is. We are all involved in paddling for the love of the sport. At the end of the day, that is what matter and when we sit/kneel in our boats, we are all the same.

How do you think our community could help homosexuals with 'coming out' or just to be of support in general?

It’s already started with the overwhelming show of support our community has showed since my coming out.

I hope that by doing this it inspires other to come out and inspire even more athletes to feel comfortable being themselves. I believe we have a responsibility to leave the sport better then when we started it. We have a responsibility to inspire the next generation of athletes to be comfortable with who they are and create an atmosphere where this isn’t even an issue

It would also be my hope that this starts a conversation. I hope that as an international sporting community, we can lead by example and show that in fact, “we are always moving forward”. Someone close to me said, a lot of streams create a big river. We have a lot of opportunities - speaking to all issues in our sport now - to become one of the most diverse and accepting sports in the world. We need leaders to step forward and start talking about these issues so that everyone feels comfortable in their environment. 

What message and experience would you like to share with other homosexual paddlers?

I know how hard it is to struggle with this. It is not easy. But I promise, it does gets so much better. Be true to yourself and everything in life will become better.

Speaking to my experience, I realize now that I wasted so much energy trying to be someone I wasn’t. Not only did it take away from my joy in life, but it also took away from what I could offer to sport and my performance. I had lost all my confidence on a personal level, which took away from my confidence on the start line.

If I can take anything away from the hundreds of messages of support I’ve received so far, it is that the people, who care for you, just want you to be happy. We are all different in our own ways and that’s what creates greatness. When we sit/kneel in our boats, we are all the same. We are all athletes. That is all that matters!

You can contact Connor at connortaras@me.com