IN Toronto magazine

HEALTH:

A call to action from pro soccer player David Testo, spokesman for the Male Call Canada survey

Pro soccer player David Testo is lending his name and support to Male Call Canada, a massive study on the attitudes of men who have sex with men.

“The more light shined on the subject the better,” says Testo, who has played for four and half years with Montreal Impact, now part of Major League Soccer (MLS). “From my perspective, I grew up in the south, where being gay is not accepted,” says the 30-year-old North Carolina native. “I was surrounded by a lot of dark energy, where I was unable to express love in the same way as heterosexuals.

“This study is a call to action. By understanding where, how and why men have sex with men, we better our society and save lives.”

Male Call Canada is led by the University of Toronto, partnering with the Canadian AIDS Society, the AIDS Committee of Toronto, l’Université du Québec à Montréal and the University of Windsor. The study aims to recruit at least 6,000 men to participate in a confidential phone survey that continues through January. Findings are scheduled to be released in July.

“This is the most comprehensive survey of men who have sex with men in Canadian history,” says principal investigator Ted Myers, a professor at UofT’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. “The first national study was in 1991, the National Men’s Study,” adds Dalla Lana’s Faria Marlatt. There have been few national studies since then, none with the scope and reach of this new study.

“This study is tackling everything from self esteem and discrimination to opinions on pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis,” says Marlatt. “We can’t prejudge what the study will find, but it will have profound implications for public and health policies.”

The potential benefits for the LGBT community are of primary concern for Testo. While his family and many of his teammates knew he was gay, Testo decided to come out to the media last fall following the suicide of bullied Ottawa teen Jamie Hubley. “I got to the point in my life and career where it just seemed right. I had so much support from my family, from my organization. It just felt like I had built myself to that moment.

“Would it have made a difference to me when I was 15 or 16 if an athlete had come out? Absolutely.”

Testo’s immediate future is a big question mark. Impact’s whole roster was released when the team moved this year from the North American Soccer League to the top tier of the MLS.

The midfielder isn’t sure if he is going to attend spring camp which begins in January; he’s considering hanging up his cleats. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was five, the last 10 as a professional. Perhaps it’s time to cool down.” While Testo realizes that being a gay role model – the only male athlete in a North American-based pro league to come out – has greater profile if he’s still playing, he’s not so sure if that’s the right place for him at this point. “Soccer is a macho, testosterone-driven boys’ club and being in that world is energy draining. Now that I’m older and wiser, I’m less concerned with winning or losing on the sports field. There are other challenges out there.”

For more info go to malecall.ca; to participate in the survey, call 1-855-846-MALE (6253).