On April 21, 1992, I wrote the below column for the University of Delaware student newspaper. It’s poorly done and sloppy and off-putting. My usage of “homosexual” instead of “gay” is, at best, awkward.
I remember, after it came out, receiving quite the response. One of my roommates told me he started reading it and was, eh, confused. Then, when he saw that I wasn’t gay, relieved. He told me some of his friends were like, “Hey, nice roommate you’ve got there.”
I was barely 20 at the time. The column came, the column eventually went. Looking back, however, I’m proud that young, naive, virginal Jeff Pearlman wrote something like that. Maybe I did it out of a need for attention. Or because I wanted to seem particularly righteous. Maybe I wanted lots of letters to the editor.
Whatever the case, it was a stand.
