Read the poem gay football player Kennedy McDowell wrote while struggling last season

Kennedy McDowell was a defensive end for two seasons on the Colorado State Rams football team. He joined the team in 2023 as one of the top prospects in the country, having been out as gay in high school.

McDowell left the Colorado State football team after the 2024 season, telling Outsports he had been dealing with both physical and mental health issues. McDowell is now leaning into other passions in his life, including poetry. He told Outsports that he is now minoring in poetry at Colorado State.

He wrote this poem — Grounded — during the 2024 season. He shared it with Outsports, and he shares it with the world.

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Grounded

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By Kennedy McDowell

You wouldn’t understand 
You wouldn’t understand how much i care
From pounds and posture to the love that comes out of my heart 
You wouldn’t understand how it affects me so
Have perfection in your corner and happiness is received 
Earn satisfaction once that is achieved 
But you wouldn’t understand
Do you ever hold yourself to a higher standard than most?
Of course you do 
But you wouldnt understand how much I do
Your body is supposed to be a temple
Sacred 
Something special to care for
But every time I see mine, I think I lose my mind
Cause I don’t understand what they see
I just want to be
Happy
It’s not that easy
In a world so tough
I’m just never enough
Enough for you
Enough for them
Never enough for me
I’m exhausted for trying so hard
To share my love with so many people and not much to myself
But you would never understand
Cause in my universe with me, myself, and I 
In a universe with my one true love
Or in a universe with my beloved friends and family 
What I tell people is not how it sounds, 
They think i’m in the clouds, and not on the ground

You can follow Kennedy McDowell on Instagram.

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The post Read the poem gay football player Kennedy McDowell wrote while struggling last season appeared first on Outsports.