St. Peter High School rallies around student-athlete who faced prejudice on the court
ST. PETER, Minn. (KEYC) - St. Peter High School senior Alex Bosacker is a three-sport athlete on his way to Southwest Minnesota State University on a track scholarship.
“Being able to be who I am and everyone loving me just as much, even more now,” Bosacker said. “I am so much more open with them and happier, the support has been amazing.”
Bosacker is openly gay and has found support from his school, his team, and his coach. Bosacker says head coach Sean Keating was one of the first people he told and helped him come out to others.
“I am extremely proud of Alex of how far he came and grew as a person,” Keating said. “That is what makes coaching rewarding.”
In February when St. Peter was playing New Ulm, a player made a homophobic slur directed toward Bosacker. Since then, both the team and the city of St. Peter have rallied around him.
“Having like the fan section dress up for me and the community, it is kind of crazy,” Bosacker said. “People are changing their profile picture to the Saints’ logo with the pride on the inside. It is really amazing.”
Keating works to promote a family-like team mindset with things like Mental Health Wednesdays, where players share what they are going through with other players.
“We try to focus on the things we can control, which, for us, is how we care about each other, our effort, our attitude and the things that we can do to make a difference,” Keating said.
Throughout everything that Bosacker has gone through over the last four years at St. Peter, both on and off the court, the multi-sport athlete is grateful for the support.
“It feels safe, and that you are secure. If something happens, everybody will be there to have your back, and it is just really nice and makes you feel comfortable with being who you are,” Bosacker said.
New Ulm Public Schools has issued an apology for the incident and says the student involved has been disciplined.
The city of New Ulm will be hosting a unity event to show support for the LGBTQ+ community at 1 p.m. Saturday, near the intersection of Center and Broadway Streets.
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