Gay student says “Coach” Tim Walz protected him from homophobic bullies [Video]

While introducing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate to a rally audience of 14,000 in Philadelphia yesterday evening, Vice President Kamala Harris noted that, while working as a high school teacher and football coach back in 1999, Walz advised the school’s first gay-straight alliance (GSA) to help LGBTQ+ students, making “the school a safe place for everybody,” Harris said.

At the rally, Harris noted that Walz worked for a decade as a social studies teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School. During his time there, he helped the “winless” football team win a state championship, Harris said, using football to teach his players life lessons. But “Tim wasn’t only a role model on the football field,’ Harris said.

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“Around that same time, Coach Walz was approached by a student in his social studies class. The young man was one of the first openly gay students at the school and was hoping …