Hudson Taylor (wrestler)
| Hudson Taylor | |
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Hudson Taylor
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| Born | 13 January 1987 |
| Education | University of Maryland, College Park |
| Occupation | Founding executive director, Athlete Ally |
| Spouse(s) | Lia Alexandra Mandaglio |
Hudson Taylor (born Herbert Hudson Taylor IV) is the founder and executive director of Athlete Ally, a former wrestling coach at Columbia University and a prominent straight ally and civil rights activist of LGBT rights.
Taylor thrice gained the status of NCAA All-American wrestler before graduating and becoming a coach at Columbia University. He also secured the most pins and the most wins in the history of collegiate wrestling at the University of Maryland, College Park and is ranked among the top five pinners in NCAA wrestling history. He holds several hall-of-fame records
Taylor is descended from a long line of Christian missionaries, including James Hudson Taylor, who founded the China Inland Mission during the 19th Century in China. While he has had disagreements with his parents over religion, it instilled in him a "strong sense of inclusion over exclusion."
An athlete all his life, Taylor experienced denigrating humor in high school and college sports, but befriended gay people when he majored in Interactive Performance Art at the University of Maryland. When Taylor began to wear an equality sticker from the Human Rights Campaign on his wrestling headgear, he faced backlash from his peers, but gained attention from the media. When he blogged about experiencing homophobia in collegiate sports, he received hundreds of emails from closeted athletes. This experience eventually drove him to found the non-for-profit organization, Athlete Ally, "with the mission of educating, encouraging and empowering straight athlete allies to combat homophobia and transphobia in sports."
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