So.Gay is the Official Media Partner of the New York City Pride Basketball League, Men’s+ Division. In the first of its kind partnership, So.Gay and NYCPBL partner to amplify the critical community organization and create new Sports content for the LGBTQ+ community. You can read more about the partnership here.
Peter Catchings believed basketball was in his DNA. His father, who stood at 6’6″, played in college, and his older brother, also 6’6″, went on to play both in college and professionally in Spain. Catchings grew to 6’3″ and he felt the same pressure to succeed.
Ironically, his athletic career began in gymnastics as a kid in Chicago. He remembers being a flamboyant child, unapologetically himself. But by eighth grade, his father became determined to steer him toward the family legacy, so Catchings joined his high school basketball team.
By his sophomore year, he was one of the best players on the team, eventually earning a spot to play college basketball at Cornell College in Iowa.
In an exclusive interview with So.Gay, Catchings reveals that just as he was reaching for the stars in basketball, a spinal injury sent his world crashing down. A year off the court made him reevaluate his purpose without the sport and further emboldened him to come out of the closet, even if his coach made him choose between his identity as an athlete and a gay man.
For Catchings, the answer was finding a new team. And though his life path diverged from professional basketball, his sportsmanship eventually found a home with the Pride Basketball League NYC.
“I thought I was going to take basketball all the way in college,” says Catchings. “I had a pretty stellar first year—I was named Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. My sophomore year went similarly, but in my junior year, I got hurt just four games into the season.”
Catchings was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, aggravated by the injury, and had to return home to Chicago for treatment and physical therapy. He wasn’t just sitting out from basketball but relearning how to walk.
“I was ready to shine and had put in all the work,” he says. “Now suddenly I was questioning who I was [without basketball].”
A break from what he considered his future gave Catchings time to reflect in the present, and he began coming out to his family and childhood friends. Once it was time to return to college, he kept his newfound identity for the ears of his closest confidantes to focus on basketball.
“[My secret] just spread like wildfire,” says Catchings. “One day, my coach pulled me into his office and started talking about my injury, but then mentioned he’d heard other things circulating—without actually saying it. He never named my sexuality but told me I shouldn’t be a distraction to the team.”
Catchings had overcome all the odds stacked against him on the court with a severe back injury, only to be knocked back down by his coach’s homophobia.
“I went through a year-long process of understanding my purpose,” says Catching. “For so long, my purpose has been to be a basketball player—to win games and compete. Then, all of a sudden, I had my coach in front of me basically telling me, ‘You either need to be who you know yourself to be, which is a queer Black male, or you need to be an athlete.’”
Catchings might have quit the team but never lost his love for the sport. He continued playing in his downtime, even after graduating college and moving back home.
During a pickup game with his friends, they encouraged him to find a team worthy of his skills. Ironically, the same type of peers his former coach had used as a scapegoat were the ones who helped him find his way to a league that truly valued him.
In the end, Catchings found a team worthy of him at a gay basketball league in Chicago, so when he moved to New York in 2021, it was the first thing he sought out.
“Honestly, I thought I was going to destroy the competition,” says Catchings, who wasted no time signing up for the Pride Basketball League NYC in the A division. “I think people assume that gay men are soft, but we’re not. We’re pretty feisty and competitive—we want to win. You definitely can bring that energy when you play in Pride Basketball.”
Catchings learned this lesson himself when he discovered he wasn’t the only gay man who had played basketball in college or came from a family of basketball players. He may have joined the league to fill a hole in his heart, but instead, he found lifelong friends who made him feel seen.
“It’s a super competitive environment, but it’s also a really, really cool community,” says Catchings. “Some of my best friends are from that league. I play board games with guys from the league once a week and go out with them. It’s great to have so much in common with them.”
Catchings admits that being surrounded by like-minded athletes means his team doesn’t always win. But he certainly enjoys trying.
So.Gay is the Official Media Partner of the New York City Pride Basketball League, Men’s+ Division. In the first of its kind partnership, So.Gay and NYCPBL partner to amplify the critical community organization and create new Sports content for the LGBTQ+ community. You can read more about the partnership here.
