Dalton Maldonado

Dalton Maldonado (born October 20, 1995) is an American former high school basketball player and LGBT rights activist who came to national prominence when he shared the harrowing tale of intimidation when he came out at a high school basketball game in Kentucky.

In 2015, Maldonado was featured as one of the most influential people in the LGBT community by Out magazine and he was named "Person of the Year" by Outsports.

Early life and education Maldonado was born in Pikeville, Kentucky, in 1995 and attended Betsy Layne High School.

Coming out experience He became known after coming out after a basketball game. His coming out gained national attention after being featured in Outsports magazine. Maldonado wants to make sure no other teen endures the harassment he received after coming out,

Maldonado's coming out occurred at a high school basketball game in Lexington, Kentucky, on December 28, 2014. When his team caught up to him, they began asking questions relating to the incident. Maldonado then decided to come out to his supportive teammates. The opposing team followed suit as they all walked back to their bus. When they made it on the bus, the Bryan Station students began banging on the nearest window, shouting gay slurs at the team. Some students tried to board the bus but were stopped by Maldonado, his coach, and the bus driver. When the Betsy Layne students drove off, the opposing team members got into their cars and followed the bus, making threatening gestures at the students. Both schools said that they had conducted internal investigations and denied any wrongdoing. The Fayette County public schools administration's investigation concluded that the event "was inaccurately reported and mischaracterized" by the media.

Aftermath After coming out, Maldonado's picture was left out of the two-page spread commemorating his basketball team in his senior yearbook. In addition to the team photo, there were individual call-outs for every team member except Maldonado. His school, Betsy Layne High School, claimed that the omission was accidental and that the school district "holistically supports Dalton Maldonado just as we do all our students." They point out that the book includes 15 photos of Maldonado, including many that show him playing basketball.

Later life In 2015, Maldonado was attending college at the University of Louisville, where he is starting a chapter of GO! Athletes.

He had a fragrance released by Xyrena called Formula 3, sales of which will support the LGBT sports organization "You Can Play".