http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=34382
Anthony Alfano was the team captain for his final two seasons of the four he played for the co-op Huntley Raiders varsity hockey team that also featured players from Marian Central Catholic High School.
A left-handed shooting forward, Alfano was popular on the team and quite the playmaker. He also excelled in the classroom at Huntley before graduating in 2008, earning a spot on the Dean’s List and the National Honors Society.
However, the real Alfano was hidden in the closet, afraid to reveal to anyone that he was gay. In fact, he admits he dated girls at the time to hide his identity. No one had any idea what Alfano was going through emotionally. He was, quite simply, a wreck, ready to end his life.
“In high school, I was very suicidal because of my sexual orientation,” Alfano told Windy City Times. “I grew up in a very Italian, very catholic household, and being gay was never a point of discussion. I believed, because the Catholic Church was preaching against being gay, that something was wrong with me and that I was inevitably going to hell.”
He attempted suicide three times, each time trying to suffocate himself, but he could never actually do it.
“I always felt that if I could keep pushing and getting involved in [ high ] school that life would be fine after [ graduating ] ,” Alfano said. “I was lucky. I didn’t fully accept who I was until the end of my senior year in high school and, at that point, I was still very uncertain of where I was headed in life and coming-out was not even on my radar. It wasn’t until I started college at DePaul and went on a retreat for first-year students where I truly understood the importance of coming-out.