Dalton Maldonado

Dalton Maldonado (born October 20, 1995) is an American high school basketball player and LGBT rights activist, who came to National prominence when he shared his harrowing tale of intimidation when he came out at a high school basketball game in Kentucky.

Dalton Maldonado
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States of America
Born (1995-10-20) October 20, 1995
Pikeville, Kentucky
EducationStudent at University of Louisville, Roger Williams School of Law (Dec, 2022)
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Websitewww.facebook.com/SupportDaltonMaldonado1/
Sport
SportBasketball
PositionPoint Guard
Person of the Year: 2015

In 2015, he was featured as one of the most influential people in the LGBT community by the magazine Out[1] and he was named "Person of the Year" by Outsports.[2] He grew up in Kentucky and became known after coming out after a basketball game. His coming out gained national attention after being featured in Outsports magazine. Maldonado wants to make sure no other teen endures the harassment he received after coming out in December 2014.[3]

Following reports that he had been harassed because of his sexuality by the rival team from Bryan Station High School, both schools were challenged in the press.[4] Both schools said that they had conducted internal investigations and denied any wrongdoing.[5][6] The Fayette County Public Schools administration's investigation concluded that the event "was inaccurately reported and mischaracterized" by media.[7]

After coming out, Maldonado's picture was left out of the two-page spread that commemorated his basketball team in his senior yearbook. In addition to the team photo, there were individual call-outs for every member of the team except Maldonado. His school, Betsy Layne High School, claimed that the omission was accidental and that the school district "holistically supports Dalton Maldonado just as we do all our students". They point out that the book includes 15 photos of Maldonado, including many that show him playing basketball.[3]

Maldonado has a fragrance released by Xyrena called Formula 3, sales of which will support the LGBT sports organization "You Can Play".[8] Fragrance industry analysts Basenotes claim that this is "the first signature fragrance from an openly gay athlete".[9]

As of December 2015, Dalton is attending college at the University of Louisville, where he is starting a chapter of GO! Athletes.[2] He was the recipient of the CorTech "Make an Impact" Scholarship Award.[10]

Maldonado was invited to speak at The Atlantic's inaugural LGBT summit in Washington D.C. in December 2015, aiming to "convene wide-ranging conversations on queer identity in America, at the end of a game-changing year in arenas from politics to pop culture".[11]

References

  1. "Out100: Dalton Maldonado". out.com. November 9, 2015.
  2. "Outsports Person of the Year: Dalton Maldonado". Outsports. December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  3. Smith, Cam (August 12, 2015). "Dalton Maldonado, Kentucky hoops star who came out in April, omitted from team's yearbook photo". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  4. Zeigler, Cyd (April 1, 2015). "Gay Kentucky basketball player comes out at a game, gets chased by opposing team". Outsports. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  5. Zeigler, Cyd (April 8, 2015). "Many unanswered questions from Kentucky high school after anti-gay harassment of basketball player Dalton Maldonado". Outsports. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. Zeigler, Cyd (June 18, 2015). "Kentucky schools say gay athlete Dalton Maldonado was never harassed, despite eyewitnesses". Outsports. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  7. "Full committee report on Dalton Maldonado". The Desert Sun. August 14, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  8. "Xyrena create scent for basketball player Dalton Maldonado, raising money for LGBT athletes charity". Basenotes. September 14, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  9. "Dalton Maldonado Formula 3 (2015) by Xyrena". Perfume Directory: Basenotes. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  10. "CorTech Creates "Make an Impact" Scholarship Program Impacts Are Being Made". CorTech. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  11. Maltonado, Dalton. "Unfinished Business". www.theatlantic.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
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