Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS he wanted to do, it was about making sure he felt he had the support to face the feedback he would get," said Ally Stanton, a coordinator in the Student Welfare & Development office who or- ganized their efforts. "I don't think he had any idea that he would get a re- sponse like he has. It's been pretty cool to see people coming out of the wood- work wanting to show support." The initial reaction to Dooley's an- nouncement is similar to what athletes like Jason Collins and Michael Sam re- ceived when they told the world they were gay. Collins became the first ac- tive NBA player to come out last May. Sam, an All-American defensive end from Missouri, followed suit before the NFL Draft Combine in February. Sam reached out to Dooley briefly through social media after reading his article online, and Dooley said those stories helped give him confidence in telling his own. The changing environment within the Notre Dame community has also made it easier for gay student-athletes to feel at home on campus in recent years. The university announced a pastoral plan in 2012 that allowed for the school's first support group for LGBT students. The plan called for a "spirit of inclu- sion" based on basic respect for human dignity. "No university is without some faults here and there. I made my col- lege choice, as I hope everyone does, based on what would serve me the best in the classroom and then as an athlete on the court," Dooley said. "I made the right decision. I'm a Big East champion and I'm going to med school. I think I made the right decision regardless of the political stance. I think things are changing." You Can Play's focused message of inclusion made it a good fit for the Catholic university. Burke said he didn't run into any resistance from the uni- versity once they understood what his project promoted. "If you're an athlete, a coach, a fan, you should feel safe in the sports world," Burke said. "You shouldn't be getting picked on. You shouldn't get bullied or harassed. That's all our mes- sage is. I don't think anything about that message is particularly radical. I don't think anything about that mes- sage is contradictory to what Notre Dame stands for." Dooley said he knows that the initial warm reception to his announcement will likely wear away. He expects nega- tive feedback to come as he story seeps into more mainstream media. In a way, he said, he's looking forward to the first note from a detractor to make the process seem more real. Dooley battled through his own struggle with accept- ing himself and then with finding the confidence to share his story with his family and the rest of the world. He knows more challenges lie ahead. "If I weather a storm, which I will do if need be, they're going to look at that and say he's strong as well," Dooley said. "If I collapse or anything like that, they'd see that as well. I'm fully ready." ✦ Click here to read Dooley's first-hand account of coming to terms with his identity.