Central Michigan University Athletics
Sophia Chong-Ahmed, a junior-to-be on the CMU lacrosse team, said the welcome feeling on the campus and in the program was a major factor in her decision to enroll at CMU.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Pride Month: Lacrosse Program Emphasizes Acceptance, Openness, Honesty
6/30/2021 10:09:00 AM | Lacrosse
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Sara Tisdale is nothing if not honest. And she lives it.
When she became Central Michigan's first lacrosse coach seven years ago, she made honesty a pillar of her program. For her, there was no other way.
"I identify as lesbian and I do not hesitate in telling our student-athletes and our recruits about who I am as a person," Tisdale said. "Being genuine, being authentic, and being vulnerable provides our student-athletes with comfort and safety. They can come and talk to me; for me that means that I am authentically me every single day."
Tisdale, whose roster annually comprises approximately 30 female student-athletes, said Pride Month is a reminder for her about how far mainstream American society has come in acceptance, and how far it needs to go.
"The LBGTQ Plus community is still oppressed across our country," she said. "Not every student-athlete is fortunate enough to be at a place like CMU where we strive to create an inclusive environment, support our students, and are eager to help them in their journey of being open and accepted."
Tisdale's honesty, and the environment of acceptance and openness that she has cultivated in her program, pays dividends.
Tisdale recruited junior-to-be Sophia Chong-Ahmed from Houston five years ago when Chong-Ahmed was a high school sophomore. That Tisdale talked freely and proudly at that time about her family -- her partner and stepdaughter – was a major plus, Chong-Ahmed said.
"She told it straight to me and my mom and I liked that," she said. "My sophomore year of high school I was still a little bit shy about my identity and I did not feel fully comfortable with just telling people; I felt like I could come to college and be honest about my sexuality."
Tisdale said that informing people in her life, from family to recruits to colleagues, up front about her sexuality is important not only for her, but for them.
"Pride Month helps us remember that there's still work to be done," she said. "I think about my journey in being out and identifying as a lesbian. At CMU, I decided from the minute that I had our first recruit on campus, I was going to talk openly about being gay, my partner, and my family.
"First and foremost, I made that decision because I wanted our student-athletes to feel a sense of safety and authenticity in my openness. It's important to me to be a visible member of the LBGTQ+ community."
"For me, saying that I'm gay and visibly living that lifestyle every single day normalizes non-traditional family types for our student-athletes. I talk about my family in the same way my heterosexual colleagues talk about their families, and I think that provides an inclusive environment and example for our student-athletes."
Chong-Ahmed said she has felt welcome at CMU and in the lacrosse program and that's a credit to the environment that Tisdale has created and, to a greater degree, the resources available to her on campus.
"My teammates were very accepting of me, and they were very open about conversing with me," she said. "It was really easy for me to be myself around them and treat me like it's normal not be like, 'Oh my gosh, she's talking to a girl.' It was just normal and that was very nice. I think that really helped me just be myself throughout college.
"We talk about acceptance and diversity; our coaches are very open in conversations about that and they're not afraid to talk about it, or have hard conversations and that just helps everyone open their eyes a little bit about things that maybe some players on our team don't really know about.
"If my teammates and my coaches weren't accepting of me, I think that would definitely be reflected on the field."
When she became Central Michigan's first lacrosse coach seven years ago, she made honesty a pillar of her program. For her, there was no other way.
"I identify as lesbian and I do not hesitate in telling our student-athletes and our recruits about who I am as a person," Tisdale said. "Being genuine, being authentic, and being vulnerable provides our student-athletes with comfort and safety. They can come and talk to me; for me that means that I am authentically me every single day."
Tisdale, whose roster annually comprises approximately 30 female student-athletes, said Pride Month is a reminder for her about how far mainstream American society has come in acceptance, and how far it needs to go.
"The LBGTQ Plus community is still oppressed across our country," she said. "Not every student-athlete is fortunate enough to be at a place like CMU where we strive to create an inclusive environment, support our students, and are eager to help them in their journey of being open and accepted."
Tisdale's honesty, and the environment of acceptance and openness that she has cultivated in her program, pays dividends.
Tisdale recruited junior-to-be Sophia Chong-Ahmed from Houston five years ago when Chong-Ahmed was a high school sophomore. That Tisdale talked freely and proudly at that time about her family -- her partner and stepdaughter – was a major plus, Chong-Ahmed said.
"She told it straight to me and my mom and I liked that," she said. "My sophomore year of high school I was still a little bit shy about my identity and I did not feel fully comfortable with just telling people; I felt like I could come to college and be honest about my sexuality."
Tisdale said that informing people in her life, from family to recruits to colleagues, up front about her sexuality is important not only for her, but for them.
"Pride Month helps us remember that there's still work to be done," she said. "I think about my journey in being out and identifying as a lesbian. At CMU, I decided from the minute that I had our first recruit on campus, I was going to talk openly about being gay, my partner, and my family.
"First and foremost, I made that decision because I wanted our student-athletes to feel a sense of safety and authenticity in my openness. It's important to me to be a visible member of the LBGTQ+ community."
"For me, saying that I'm gay and visibly living that lifestyle every single day normalizes non-traditional family types for our student-athletes. I talk about my family in the same way my heterosexual colleagues talk about their families, and I think that provides an inclusive environment and example for our student-athletes."
Chong-Ahmed said she has felt welcome at CMU and in the lacrosse program and that's a credit to the environment that Tisdale has created and, to a greater degree, the resources available to her on campus.
"My teammates were very accepting of me, and they were very open about conversing with me," she said. "It was really easy for me to be myself around them and treat me like it's normal not be like, 'Oh my gosh, she's talking to a girl.' It was just normal and that was very nice. I think that really helped me just be myself throughout college.
"We talk about acceptance and diversity; our coaches are very open in conversations about that and they're not afraid to talk about it, or have hard conversations and that just helps everyone open their eyes a little bit about things that maybe some players on our team don't really know about.
"If my teammates and my coaches weren't accepting of me, I think that would definitely be reflected on the field."
Players Mentioned
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