Wele to the 'Gay Gam,' an Olympics alternative, where activism is enuraged and everyone's an athlete | CNN

Contents:

• JAGUARS ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT
• NFL ACH OUT AS GAY HISTORIC MOMENT AMERIN SPORTS
• JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH AND NDNG ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE
• ATHLET WHO ARE GAY
• GAY AT THE GAM: 7 UNFETTABLE MOMENTS
• GAY MOSW · CY GUI

JAGUARS ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen me out as gay on Thursday what is believed to be a first for a male ach major U. Kev Maxen, a strength ach for the NFL anchise the Jacksonville Jaguars, has publicly e out as gay a landmark moment Amerin men's profsnal sportsJacksonville Jaguars strength ach Kev Maxen (R) has publicly e out as gayJacksonville Jaguars ach Kev Maxen has ma history by beg the first active NFL ach to publicly e out as gay. (Jam Gilbert/Getty Imag)Jacksonville Jaguars assistant strength ach Kev Maxen me out publicly as gay Thursday, which mak him the first known openly gay male ach the NFL and all of Amerin men’s profsnal joed the Jaguars’ strength and ndng staff last season.

Tampa Bay Bucneers fensive end Carl Nassib beme the league’s first active openly gay player when he me out 2021, when he was wh the Las Vegas Rairs.

Former San Francis 49ers assistant Katie Sowers ma history as both the first woman and first openly gay ach a Super Bowl was a lebacker at Wtern Connecticut State, a Divisn III program. Figure skatg has long been seen as a safe haven for gay men, but no publicly out skaters peted at a Gam until PyeongChang 2018, when Adam Rippon, Eric Radford and Jorik Hendrickx led the way that sport.

NFL ACH OUT AS GAY HISTORIC MOMENT AMERIN SPORTS

Kenworthy did not medal the eki sloptyle event, but NBC meras beamed imag of him and Wilkas sharg their affectn once Kenworthy was done petg, a moment the out Amerin said at the time was powerful for many reasons: “I thk that the only way to really change perceptns, break down homophobia, break down barriers is through reprentatn, ” he said.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH AND NDNG ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

“That’s fely not somethg I had as a kid: I fely didn’t see a gay athlete at the Olympics kissg their boyiend and I thk that if I had would have ma a lot easier for me, so hopefully did that for other people. While queer historians have reported on plenty of closeted gay athlet to pete at an Olympics, not one was on rerd as beg out until Seoul 1988, when Amerin Robert Dover, an equtrian athlete, beme the first.

Havg not been out at his but Gam Los Angel 1984, Dover ma the choice to e out prr to 1988 as the AIDS epimic ripped through the queer muny: “I ma a statement that I was gay, ” Dover said plaly.

WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE

We’re not sure why other people watch sports, but we n tell you why we do: For those special moments when players are ught homoerotic posns. Atralian A-League soccer star Josh Cavallo me out as gay an October vio posted to his social media, beg hailed as the first current male top-flight profsnal soccer player to publicly do so. "He ntued: "Growg up I always felt the need to hi myself, you know, bee I was ashamed, and ashamed I'll never be able to do what I love and be gay.

In a September terview wh USA Today, 25-year-old mor league baseball player beme the only active baseball profsnal to be out as gay!

ATHLET WHO ARE GAY

The 28-year-old Natnal Football League player and Rairs fensive leman ma history when he me out as gay on Instagram durg Pri Month, beg the first veteran NFL player to e out as gay while signed to a regular-season ntract. The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know.

GAY AT THE GAM: 7 UNFETTABLE MOMENTS

Hiltz had prevly e out as gay while llege and has been a visible and affirmg prence for gay athlet the past. Corey Walsh, the 27-year-old pro BMX rir and Vans spokperson, said he isn't normally the type of person to "let people " on his personal life, but felt was important to e out as gay a March Instagram post bee "there are a lot of people still stgglg wh the same suatns" and he "jt wanted to let people know that they are not alone.

Champn long track speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy never hid beg gay om his fay, iends, and fellow athlet, but he also wasn't one to rate his locker wh rabow Pri flags eher. He ially feared negative stereotyp about gay male athlet but threw those ncerns asi after his two-tle performance at the U. This year we’ve seen an unprecented number of gay athlet e out of the closet, and we’ve seen even more straight athlet stand up agast homophobia.

GAY MOSW · CY GUI

" There were certaly amazg gay and lbian athlet before the Stonewall rts 1969, but there wasn’t a ph for gay equaly sports until after that fateful day New York Cy.

We uld not have veloped the list whout the help of several people who dug ep to their archiv for many of the moments: Gay wrtlg gu Gene Dermody; Longtime gay-sports advote and current head of the GLSEN Sports Project Pat Griff; Author and high school soccer ach Dan Woog; and thor Patricia Nell Warren, who has wrten about the history of gay athlet for Outsports for years. 1) Dave Kopay out / 1975 / football2) Marta Navratilova out / 1981 / tennis 3) Billie Jean Kg outed / 1981 / tennis 4) Publitn of 'The Front Runner' / 1974 / books 5) First Gay Gam / 1982 / var sports 6) Corey Johnson's story is told / 2000 / football 7) Billy Bean outt / baseball / 1999 8. ) John Rocker spews homophobia to Sports Illtrated / 1999 / baseball 9) First gay softball world seri / 1977 / softball 10) Matthew Mcham ws divg gold / 2008 / divg 11) Ian Roberts out / 1995 / gby 12) Renee Richards ws right to play U.