Will Hackner’s involvement with football began in an unconventional way.
The Outloud Sports CEO said that as a child, the sport was heavily associated with bullying, to the point that “in my 17 years at Outloud Sports, football was not a sport I wanted to play and I actively avoided it.”
But when the Rams reached out to Hackner to suggest they start a football league together, and showed their support and clear understanding of the local community and an increased passion for football, it struck a chord with Hackner.
“Now we have four seasons of football per year, a co-ed program and the largest LGBTQ+-only football program in Los Angeles,” Hackner said. “I’ve learned a lot about football, played a little bit and gained a new level of empathy and respect for the sport and the people who are passionate about it. It’s awesome.”
OutLoud was founded in 2007 at Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles with a simple game of Capture the Flag.
Hackner said that when he first came to Los Angeles, the LGBTQ+ community prioritized “parties, aesthetics and social status.” Having grown up in Chicago and Washington, D.C., he defined community as a support system of friends, family and neighbors.
He couldn’t find it in his social life, so he created OutLoud Sports and filled that need by hosting Capture the Flag games.
“Since then, through more than 35 different activities, leagues, tournaments and fundraisers, I’ve been touched to discover that thousands of people have felt the same desire,” Hackner said.
For Hackner, the best part about OutLoud Sports is meeting new people.
“It sounds cliché, but the pride I feel at Outloud Sports comes from all the people who stepped out of their comfort zone and tried something different in their social lives,” Hackner said. “As an adult and someone who identifies as LGBTQ+, it’s not easy to step onto a tennis court or baseball field or football field, especially in front of new people. I made my best friends through sports. I built my social life around playing games with friends. It was the highlight of my adulthood. Now in my 40s, I still play like a kid and am constantly meeting new people who share that same energy.”
Hackner said it means a lot to the Rams for them to support the organization because they know how important football is culturally to America.
“To have an NFL team that is not only a Super Bowl champion but that represents millions of fans looking at them with not just a presence but with interest and concern gives every player a sense of connection to something much bigger than themselves,” he said. “It’s a really great thing.”
Part of Hackner’s motivation for living life as he truly is that “throughout my childhood and teenage years I was afraid to be myself.”
“I was creative, loud, nerdy, smart, and full of energy that I was afraid to be myself,” he said. “The moment I came out of the closet, it liberated my inner sexuality, but I also realized that I could be true to everything else because it was accepted by most of my friends and family. So being true to myself at all times to everyone is what drives me to live authentically for the time I’ve had.”
Hackner said the LGBTQ+ community is constantly evolving and changing. Rapid evolution can be confusing and scary, and people in the community don’t always understand it, he said. So listening and empathy can go a long way to being a better ally to the community.
“I think listening and empathy work best, especially as our community tries to understand who we are and to have that authenticity embraced, it’s important that we’re able to communicate freely and be listened to,” Hackner said.
When it comes to celebrating Pride Month, Hackner mentioned celebrating yourself and your allies, and thinking beyond the traditional symbols commonly associated with Pride Month.
“Pride is for the LGBTQ+ community, but I believe there’s a little bit of queer in everyone,” he said. “Pride is about celebrating your inner self, your angry self, your silly self, your active self, your depressed self, your changing self, your scared self, your in love self. Celebrate yourself as joyfully as possible. But, my people, tone down the rainbows. Pride is so much more.”
