Becky Lee of Denver!

What does being a Hall of Famer mean to you?

It is a surprising but fantastic honor not only for myself but for the community here in Denver. This recognition is the culmination of the support from an amazing group of people in our Denver league. They gently pushed me to be a leader despite my own fears of what I could offer back to them and gave me a lot of love (even with constructive criticism) as their commissioner for two years. It also is deeply appreciated to be a part of the greater community of the NGFFL which I was shy to be a part of but was so kindly welcomed into by the other cities and commissioners who I was able to get to know in brief opportunities at tournaments.

What made you decide to “come out and play” in the NGFFL?

I have to thank the founding members of the Denver league who had the vision to start a co-ed league in our city. I didn't join in Season 1, but I watched my friends make new friends that crossed gender and orientation lines within the 6 starting teams. I probably could call 1 gay man as my friend at the time. I was hooked in Season 2 playing in our local league, and ten years later, I have a great group of friends and have met many more really cool people - gay, straight, male, female, trans - who also break all sorts of stereotypes on and off the field. This particular aspect was a real growing point for me. And then core members of the league invited me to help bid for Gay Bowl XII in Denver, and this became the starting point for the women's division that the following cities continued to host and helped to grow to what will be a 12 team field this year at Gay Bowl XVIII!

I also want to mention that my participation in this community over the last ten years was the support I needed when I was still closeted up until about 2 years ago when I finally came out to my parents. Despite the late coming out, I don't know if I could have ever even had the conversation with my conservative Korean minister father or my mother if I didn't have the example of the league members who proved that there's nothing to be ashamed of, and we're actually a bunch of pretty amazing humans who play some damn good football (I LOVE watching the men's and women's championship games!)

What is your favorite NGFFL memory so far?

I have many fond memories and really fuzzy closing party memories. But by far, the highlight has to be winning Gay Bowl XIV with a Denver team that almost only brought 8 players but got lucky with some talent at the last minute and some of the best teamwork I've been a part of.

Given the mission/vision of NGFFL: “To proudly foster community, camaraderie, and inclusivity by providing opportunities to engage in competition through flag football” – how do you plan to use your new moniker as Hall of Famer to embody this mission/vision?

This has been a personal mission of mine to be a good ambassador for this league locally and nationally. I personally reach out to as many rookies as possible during the season and have done my best to engage other city teams on and off the field at tournaments. I believe a lot of people out there are looking for their people and hoping for a connection through these leagues and tournaments. And it doesn't take much more sometimes than moving out of our comfort zone to strike up a conversation with someone new to make a life long friend. Particularly in these divisive times, it's good to keep in mind that we have more in common than not despite some fierce competitiveness on the field. And I also plan to slip into as much conversation things like "you know, as a Hall of Famer, you should really take my advice" and so on.

What is one manner in which you would like to see the NGFFL advance over the next few years?

I think the NGFFL is a prime venue for broadening our inclusivity because as a league we have dropped most boundaries on gender and orientation unlike the straight leagues I used to play on. Being a cis-gender female who can easily blend into a straight community, if needed, and lives in a progressive city, I don't completely understand how excluded certain people may feel in the LGBTQ community. But from talking to more and more people who feel they're on the fringe, they don't always feel welcome in this league - a league which should be the ideal place for anyone with athletic inclinations to be able to play in without fixating on a category. I've thought about this a lot on the local level here how we can break out into other fringe groups in the queer community to make them feel welcome in our league if they love sports and want to continue to compete on the field. I don't have a great answer today, but I would love to see the NGFFL and all the welcome I see be cast out into the greater community somehow through either active pursuit within those communities or broader marketing. I don't think it's a matter of active exclusivity on anyone's part but an awareness that there are people who exist in the fringes.