Thanks, Caitlyn
Dad of tragic trans kid: Speech will ‘save lives’
THE DAD of one of the transgender teens mentioned by Caitlyn Jenner in her ESPYs speech told the Daily News on Thursday he was surprised and moved by the televised tribute .
“It made me happy, and happiness has been something we haven’t had a lot of for some time,” Geoffrey Taub, father of 15-yearold Sam Taub, said Thursday. “I was just happy when I heard Sam mentioned in such a positive and tactful way. I think anyone would draw strength from Caitlyn’s message. Sam would have drawn some strength.”
The Michigan father of three said Sam, who was born Samantha Noelle Taub, came out as transgender in December and “advocated with fury against ignorance” before taking his own life in April.
“Sam, I feel, would have really appreciated the emotion in Caitlyn’s voice,” the grieving dad said. He said Jenner’s camp did not give him a prior heads-up, but he was OK with that.
“That speech reached so many people and will reignite the conversation in our local community,” he said. “Ideally, I expect it to save lives. Someone out there who is alone or struggling — even with support — may look to people like Sam and Caitlyn and hopefully draw strength to seek the help they need . . . so they do not find themselves contemplating suicide.”
Taub, 48, said Sam was hospitalized for anorexia last year and also diagnosed with anxiety before publicly identifying as male at his high school in West Bloomfield, Mich.
Sam was seeing a therapist, a specialist in eating disorders and a third doctor and had multiple suicide-prevention assessments, the dad said. He also was taking the antidepressant Celexa, which has been linked to suicidal thoughts in some young people.
“I’m not at liberty to make medical assumptions at this point, but there is a question of whether or not the medication was a source of motivation,” Taub told The News.
The suicide was devastating for everyone who knew and loved Sam, who referred to his dad online as his “best friend.” “This loss is lifelong,” Taub said. In her speech, Jenner also mentioned Mercedes Williamson, an Alabama teen who went missing in May and was found fatally stabbed on property belonging to her alleged killer’s father.
“Sam’s story haunts me in particular because his death was a few days before ABC aired my interview with Diane Sawyer,” Jenner said during her speech Wednesday night.
“Trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect,” Jenner said before receiving a standing ovation.