An advocate on and off the pitch: Catching up with Elise Morris, DIII LGBTQ award winner

For Elise Morris, her women's soccer student-athlete experience at Middlebury has led her halfway across the world.

The 2022 Division III LGBTQ Student-Athlete of the Year is currently playing professional soccer for FC Metz, a club in France's Division 2 Féminine. Morris recently joined the Metz, France team after beginning her career in the Norwegian First Division for Amazon Grimstad FK in Grimstad, Norway.

This is the first professional soccer contract for Morris, who was a neuroscience major and team captain at Middlebury. With plenty of fresh experiences, Morris is adjusting to living in a foreign country and learning about Norwegian customs.

In an email conversation, Morris reflected on her new journey, what winning the OneTeam award meant to her, her passion for Title IX and LGBTQ topics and more.

(This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.) 

Question: You're out of the country right now, playing pro soccer. What's the experience been like so far?

Answer: Moving to a new country and adapting to a new culture, new language, new people, new environment, new styles of play is an adventure! Transitions like these are always a good reminder of my control-seeking behavior, and I've learned yet again that trying to control outcomes in a new place using old strategies is not very successful. I've been practicing patience, openness and rest rather than the more intense mindset of "success" that I first came here with.

One of the things I've been most fascinated by is experiencing a different soccer culture. From tactical strategies to locker room dynamics, I am gaining a broader respect for how this universal language is spoken in different places. I am the only non-Norwegian speaker on the field, so I've learned to take my cues from hand signals and from a few key Norwegian words (like ned!! means drop!!). 

Our halftime staple is a plate of fruit and two bottles of Coke, which has now become my new go-to pick-me-up. I've always known that football culture is different around the world, but it's so wild to experience it firsthand (more like first foot) on the field with my teammates. 

I'm also learning key nonfootball-related culture. Norwegians LOVE ice cream, candy, hot dogs and dairy. You can find bulk candy and soft-serve ice cream in almost every gas station. It's not uncommon for my teammates to carry around pints of chocolate ice cream as their snack of choice. 

I feel grateful that football is taking me places I might never have visited, meeting people I might have never known, and I'm just trying to soak it all up every day.

Q: What was your reaction upon finding out you were the 2021-22 NCAA Division III LGBTQ OneTeam Award recipient?

A: Receiving this award was one of the most impactful moments of my life. To be chosen as a representative for queer DIII student-athletes was an amazing honor, but it wasn't until the award ceremony that I felt its significance. 

Hearing the history of the work done by OneTeam for LGBTQ+ people in the NCAA, and the stories of co-recipients Courtnie Prather and Portia Hoeg, I was humbled by their authentic bravery and what it took to create this moment. That room was filled with a collective passion, grief and vision for the liberation of LGBTQ+ people.

The air was charged with a distinctly queer kind of radical love that felt like breathing in a hug and a wink from everyone in the room. Normative sports culture rewards fitting in. Standing proudly in that room in my bubble gum pink pumps was a celebration of sticking out. This is what queer people bring to sports, and this space was a culmination of the revolution, love and sticking-out that has come before me. 

There are still many barriers and gaps in equity for athletes who don't have access to the same opportunities that I have. Sports have been both a catalyst of this exclusion, and a powerful force in stopping it. This award is a celebration and a call to action: As athletes, it is our responsibility and duty as leaders of our communities to create the standards and norms for a culture that we want to be a part of—to create a community of care, equity and inclusion for all.

Q: You were involved in the Title IX office at Middlebury and worked specifically on consent education. Is there anything you're specifically proud of working on or accomplishing?

 A: The work I am most proud of is the consent education curriculum I implemented with Middlebury's athletic department. Being a student-athlete, I understood the way our community was perpetuating harmful social dynamics, and I knew the impact my vision of consent could have. 

With the support of the Title IX Office, the DEI office and my athletic director at Middlebury, I adapted a program called Athletes as Leaders and implemented a consent education curriculum that replaced the standard program used to meet the NCAA sexual violence attestation. 

I met with our 35 varsity teams and facilitated conversations about drinking culture, power dynamics and sexual awareness. For some teams, it was their first time openly talking about norms they follow every day. I saw teams bond as they challenged their own assumptions and addressed norms they no longer agreed with. I saw my own team culture shift drastically throughout my time at Middlebury. My first year, I was the only "out" player, and now I'm passing the baton to queer teammates who continue to create an intentional and empowering team culture.

The way we treat our teammates, the cultures we set in our locker rooms, and the messages we send to our communities matter. Consent has taught me that my identity as an athlete is my fight against sexual violence, homophobia, racism and other social injustices. As athletes, we are shaping social standards, whether we are aware of it or not. It is our responsibility as leaders of our communities to create the standards and norms for a culture that we want to be a part of — to create a community of care, equity and authenticity for all. 

I have now graduated, and I am proud to say that this program is continuing next year with an amazing group of student-athletes who are committed to educating their peers. This program has fundamentally changed my life as an athlete and person, and I truly believe it changes the athletic cultures it touches. 

At graduation, a friend on the football team thanked me for the work I did and the conversations I started on his team. He said they helped him feel safe coming out to his teammates and were pivotal to the support he received.

Q: When did you recognize or realize your passion to educate others and speak out about LGBTQ topics? 

A: For me, it starts with consent. A basic recognition that we are equals, we are human, and we all deserve to be heard. This work is not about asking for cultures to change —that's already happening. My work is about guiding communities to embrace these changes because it will benefit everyone. 

It is a tragedy to simply accept women and queer folks into spaces that were explicitly built to exclude us, expect us to thrive, and also waste the invaluable perspective we bring to the table. I've been sexualized, criticized, ignored, under resourced and unsupported for being a queer female athlete. When given the access and resources, I helped address fundamental and historical cultural problems that improved student life at Middlebury. 

The importance of diversity is not just about letting everyone into the room, it's that creating a culture that celebrates difference makes the room bigger for everyone. When we create spaces where the most disenfranchised athlete has the opportunity and support to thrive on a team, it automatically creates a culture where everyone belongs. These cultures win championships.