Not long ago in Canada, who you loved could cost you everything.
Betty Baxter knows this because it happened to her.
Betty was an elite athlete, an Olympic captain, a pioneering coach, and one of the rare women leading at the highest levels of international sport. Her athletes trusted her. Her program was working. Her future was bright.
Then, on a cold November night in 1981, Betty was told to drive to a roadside motel between Ottawa and Montreal. Inside, three of the most powerful men in Canadian volleyball were waiting. They did not ask about her athletes, her results, or her vision.
They asked one question.
“There are rumours that you are gay. Do you deny that?”
Betty’s answer was stunning in its courage. “I am the same person I have always been.”
Soon after, Betty was pushed out of the sport she loved.
But this is not only a story about prejudice, power, and what was taken from her. It is also a story about what Betty did next.
She became an activist, a human rights advocate, a builder of community, and a champion for women in Coaching, fairness in sport, and every person who has ever been told they do not belong.
Betty’s story reminds us that Pride began as courage. As risk. As people standing up when standing out could cost them everything. This is Betty Baxter’s story – and it matters.
And stick around as I then chat with Eric Turner and Isadore Chung about Pride, belonging, representation, and why respect must be more than words on a page.
To buy Outspoken – Betty Baxter’s book: https://five.libsyn.com/show/episodes/new
