Schuyler Bailar, the first transgender athlete on an NCAA Division-I men’s team, will speak Thursday at Wichita State about LGBTQ issues, masculinity, mental health, and eating disorders. The event is a part of WSU’s Diversity Lecture series.
Bailar originally committed to compete for the women’s swim team at Harvard, but after he took a gap year due to mental health issues and realized he was transgender while receiving mental-health treatment, the men’s coach extended an invitation for him to join the team.
“It actually terrified me at first. I said no at first,” Bailar told The Sunflower in a phone interview.