The brief history of gay athlet

first openly gay professional athlete

NBA center Jason Colls on Monday announced that he's gay a story for Sports Illtrated, beg the first active player one of the four major Amerin profsnal team sports to announce that he is gay.

Contents:

GAY ATHLET ARE MAKG HISTORY AT THE 2018 WTER OLYMPICS

Figure skaters Adam Rippon and Eric Radford each ma history as openly gay men who won medals at the 2018 Wter Olympics, the latt ton for Team LGBTQ. * first openly gay professional athlete *

But openly gay and lbian athlet are another matter, pecially the Wter Olympics, which mak a uple of recent ton all the more noteworthy.

ATHLET WHO ARE GAY

Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib publicly me out June 2021, makg him the first openly gay man to actively play the NFL. * first openly gay professional athlete *

First, Team USA’s Adam Rippon ma history by beg the first out gay man om the US to medal a Wter Olympics by takg home the bronze for his ee skate performance.

JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY

Thanks to the proment athlet who are gay, the sports world is beg more and more acceptg of homosexual players. Whether the famo Olympians, ... * first openly gay professional athlete *

Then, Canadian Eric Radford beme the first openly gay Wter Olympics champn after wng the gold wh partner Meagan Duhamel the pairs ee skate performance.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

Two athlet recently g out has highlighted the arth of openly gay players the world of U.S. men's profsnal sports, often dubbed "the last closet" for s lack of LGBTQ reprentatn. * first openly gay professional athlete *

Rippon is one of two openly gay Amerin athlet to reprent team USA for the first time the Wter Olympics, along wh etyle skig’s G Kenworthy. The number of openly gay athlet is still relatively small, and those who e out tend to do so after their first major petns – for a variety of reasons.

Brian Boano, the 1988 Olympic figure skatg gold medalist, announced he was gay 2013, after Print Obama named him to the official US legatn to the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS

Jacksonville Jaguars ach Kev Maxen, who joed the team last year, me out publicly as gay an terview wh Outsports published on Thursday, beg the first ach a U.S. men’s profsnal league to do so" emprop="scriptn * first openly gay professional athlete *

In June 2021, NFL fensive end Carl Nassib me out as gay a vio posted to his Instagram, addg he donated $100, 000 to The Trevor Project, an anizatn that foc on suici preventn LGBTQ youth after he stggled wh his sexualy for 15 years.

"Sce Febary and my big announcement, this has been a whole [lot of] speculatn of the first openly gay football player, but you know what? The athlete quickly ma a name for herself a seri of TV terviews, where she voiced her support of women's rights and LGBTQ rights as an openly gay woman.

"I thk female athlet, general, are at the foreont of every prott general bee we're gay, we're women, we're women of lor, we're sort of everythg all at one time, " Rapoe told NBC news 2019. The thgs you hear as a child—every time you hear someone say 'f----t' or talk bad about a gay guy, or see somethg on TV and make fun of that.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

Jaguars assistant Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's pro sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer. * first openly gay professional athlete *

" He scribed hidg his sexualy while playg for the Utah Jazz, but said some teammat who spected he was gay were welg about a 2007 terview on "Outsi the L, " Amaechi, who played five seasons the NBA, said he thought there were other gay players the league, but said 's "terrifyg" for some to e out. '"But a few months later, he joed the Los Angel Galaxy team and beme the first openly gay man to play a major US profsnal league. I showed jt bee I'm gay don't make me any different or ls of a person, " Denson told the Milwkee Journal Sentel 2017.

KEV MAXEN BREAKS BARRIERS AS FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE PROFSNAL COACH MAJOR U.S. SPORTS

Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen ma history by beg the first openly gay male profsnal ach major U.S. sports. Maxen's announcement has been met wh support and… * first openly gay professional athlete *

"One time, I was the fourth gra and somebody said, 'Oh, bee you skate, you're gay, '" Rippon told Today 2019.

Greg Louganis won four gold medals and one silver medal at three Olympic Gam om 1976 to 1988 as a diver, but wasn't until 1994 that he me out as gay. ""If I n show that I'm out and I'm fe, then hopefully the younger generatn will feel the same way, " Grer said the same year, Grer recieved a multi-ln dollar al om Nike, and beme the first openly gay basketball player endorsed by the brand, acrdg to The married her wife, Cherelle, 2019.

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

* first openly gay professional athlete *

Thanks to the proment athlet who are gay, the sports world is beg more and more acceptg of homosexual players. Football star Michael Sam ma headl 2014 when he beme the first openly gay athlete to be drafted to the NFL. His announcement provoked mixed reactns om his fellow players and the you surprised that so many profsnal athlet are gay?

Share your thoughts the ments Wikimedia Commons / CC-BYOlympic soccer player Megan Rapoe me out as gay 2012. She has been a relatnship wh Atralian soccer player Sarah Walsh for three 38Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: Reddg, CaliforniaTeams: Chigo Red StarsTennis great Billie Jean Kg beme the first proment female profsnal athlete to e out as gay back 79Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: Long Beach, California, Uned Stat of AmeriOlympic diver Greg Louganis is openly gay.

He married his partner Johnny Chaillo 63Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: El Cajon, California, Uned Stat of AmeriWNBA player Sheryl Swoop announced that she was gay 2005.

SPRTER DUTEE CHAND BE INDIA’S FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE

Major-league baseball player Glenn Burke was fortably out to his teammat and iends 1976—but back then, was the prs that wasn't ready for a gay male athlete. * first openly gay professional athlete *

Age: 52Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: Brownfield, Texas, Uned Stat of AmeriTeams: Hoton Comets, Uned Stat women's natnal basketball team, Texas Tech Lady Rairs basketballNBA player Jason Colls me out as gay an terview wh Sports Illtrated magaze 2013. His announcement provoked mixed reactns om his fellow players and the 44Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: Northridge, Los Angel, CaliforniaTeams: Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Washgton Wizards, Memphis Grizzli, Brooklyn NetsAmerin soccer player Abby Wambach is openly gay. In 1976, Wadll and his partner Charl Deaton are the first gay men to be featured the "Coupl" sectn of People magaze.

ACTUALLY, JASON COLLS ISN'T THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN A MAJOR PRO SPORT

Eric Bach is an openly gay broadster for the Frericksburg Natnals. He has major league aspiratns, but his path has been much lonelier than he would prefer. * first openly gay professional athlete *

Gallagher says that before his suici attempt, he had bee unable to rencile his image of himself as an athlete wh gay urg. Bce Hay, an Olympic swimmer who won a gold medal 1984 as a member of the 800-meter etyle relay, out publicly at the Gay Gam and ws seven gold medals petn.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen has e out as gay. * first openly gay professional athlete *

Roy Simmons, an offensive guard for the New York Giants and the Washgton Redsks om 1979-83, reveals he is gay durg an appearance on The Phil Donahue Show. Durg the same terview which he adms his homosexualy, Burke says he believ he was trad om the Dodgers bee management spected his was gay.

17-YEAR-OLD SOCCER PLAYER OUT, BEG THE UK'S ONLY OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER

Photos of athlet who have e out publicly as gay. * first openly gay professional athlete *

Rudy Galdo, the natnal men's skatg champn, discs beg a gay man the book Insi Edge: A Revealg Journey Into the Secret World of Figure Skatg. Greg Louganis, a special Goodwill Gam edn of New York 1 News' nightly sports program, says that several athlet profsnal team sports have asked him for advice about gog public wh their homosexualy.

Brian Orser, former world figure skatg champn and two-time Canadian Olympic silver medalist, is revealed November as gay an palimony su filed by an ex-boyiend. In an affadav which he argued to keep the su's documents sealed, Orser says, "Other skaters, both Canadian and Amerin, guard their gayns closely bee of the likely impact of public disclosure on their reers.

On Febary 23, 2014, Brooklyn Nets center Jason Colls be the first openly gay athlete to play a game the Uned Stat’ four major profsnal leagu. The 35-year-old journeyman plays 10 srels mut, rerdg two rebounds and five fouls the Nets’ 108-102 victory over the Los Angel May 2013, Colls revealed he is gay a first-person say  Sports Illtrated.

OPENLY GAY ATHLET

When Nashville Predators prospect Le Prokop me out this week, was the first time an active player unr ntract to an NHL team had ever publicly acknowledged they were gay. Overnight, Prokop's announcement doubled the number of out gay athlet currently playg the untry's four major men's sports — football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Though many retired former players have e out, is more unual for male profsnal athlet to say they are gay while still playg.

Gay male athlet face cultural barriers Part of the reason for the lack of out gay players men's profsnal sports uld be that there are jt fewer of them the game.

COLLEGE & PROFSNAL ATHLET WHO ARE OPENLY GAY

Rory Magrath, a rearcher at Solent Universy England, has suggted that 's possible gay men are unrreprented profsnal sports. "Gay men are a fe rource, so they n't exist great numbers every quarter, " Magrath told "Gay men are overreprented some areas, and as a nsequence are gog to be unrreprented sports. That uld be due to the mascule culture at the center of the major sports, experts say, creatg an environment that is ls welg to gay athlet.

Magrath helped thor a study that found that male athlet who me out as gay while still playg sports were largely met wh acceptance by their teammat. Robbie Rogers ma history 2013 when he took the field for the Los Angel Galaxy after as the first openly gay player profsnal U. NBA player Jason Colls, who me out 2013 while he was still playg the league, later told NPR " went great" when he scribed the perd after announcg he was gay.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* FIRST OPENLY GAY PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE

Jags' Maxen is first male Amerin pro sports ach to e out as gay - ESPN .

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