A novelty in German professional sport: first Mormon in Utah, now queer in Berlin


A novelty in German professional sport
First Mormon in Utah, now queer in Berlin

Benjamin Patch is the first openly queer player in German professional sport. The star of the Berlin Volleys has found something in the capital that he has not known for a long time: freedom. Patch wants to help society develop.

Pleated trousers, shirt, tie. Benjamin Patch had to wear something like that. That was a long time ago, there are worlds between then and now. Because today you can no longer imagine the star of the Berlin Volleys in such a civil servant and chaste outfit. Patch is the black adopted child of white Mormons, who grew up in Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah. And when Patch was 19 years old, he had to start missionary work. So try to convince other people of your religious community.

The Mormons live by very strict rules of faith, including when it comes to sexuality. Contact with the family is almost not allowed during missionary time. Patch couldn’t handle it anymore. There were several reasons for the break, a crucial one: “I like men,” says the 26-year-old with a laugh. “I am a very open person. I always felt that I am generally open to life.”

Patch, the biological son of a former American football professional, got out. “It was a huge moment for me to have to decide: Do I continue a life in confusion and behind walls or do I tear down these walls and decide to be a free and self-determined person,” said the US international before the start the championship final series against VfB Friedrichshafen on Thursday (6 p.m. / Sport1).

Patch, who has a total of twelve siblings, left the United States and moved to Italy. The year in Calabria was supposed to be his liberation, but he never felt free there. For him, southern Italy was rigid, narrow, somehow like Utah.

“A pioneer of good”

In 2018, the diagonal attacker was offered the opportunity to move to Berlin – and the German capital now feels to him as if he could finally breathe out after holding his breath for a long time. “It’s a wonderful place to get to know yourself and be accepted no matter who or how you are,” says Patch.

It’s open, that’s probably best. He casually told the “Tagesspiegel” last year that he was queer. It stands as a collective term for the pride in deviation, with which both the whole movement and individual people can be described. Non-heterosexual people or people who do not identify with the traditional role model of men and women or other social norms relating to gender and sexuality describe themselves as queer.

“It didn’t come as a shock to me. What should people have done? Should they fire you for being queer or gay? The whole world is after such people,” said Patch. “It has to normalize because it’s normal.” Berlin is the right city for him, the Volleys the right club. “In the 21st century it should be a matter of course in sport to be able to come out,” said managing director Kaweh Niroomand the “Tagesspiegel” and extended the contract from Patch to 2024.

For Patch, who likes to dance and make pottery in his studio, this year feels like change, like further change. After the climate protests, after the protests against racism and police violence. Patch believes his generation will play a decisive role in the debate about sexual self-determination. “We have the vote and we can gain control. If people are not treated fairly, then we have the power to make our voice heard. I try to be a pioneer of good myself,” he says. Of course, that sounds pathetic and maybe also naive. But also honest and self-determined.

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