ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Proving that she does not need a white ciscadet to tell her she’s free, Navy mascot Admiral Grace Chomper walked out of Navy-Marine Corps Stadium during halftime at the Army-Navy football game and never looked back.

“After years of speciesist behavior, I’d had enough,” Grace told Duffel Blog. “Every year, these entitled young men act like the only reason I’m chewing Bermuda grass and going to parties in Annapolis is because a rowdy teenager didn’t get a white knight complex that day. It’s insulting, quite frankly. I’ve always had the tools I needed to be free, and it doesn’t take a man for me to accomplish my goals and share my truth.”

Grace spoke to Duffel Blog from a farm outside of Portland, Oregon, where she plans to focus community advocacy work and eating intersectional textile art while her VA disability rating is processed.