Why There Are Few Openly Gay Athlet In Men's Profsnal Sports | KPBS Public Media

Contents:

• TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• ATHLET WHO ARE GAY
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN FIRST MALE PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• EACH OF AMERI’S BIG 5 SPORTS CURRENTLY HAS AN OUT GAY MAN THE PROS. THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED
• THERE ARE VAR PERSONAL REASONS MORE GAY MALE PRO ATHLET HAVE NOT E OUT. HERE ARE 7 OF THEM
• NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• NFL ACH BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. MEN’S PRO SPORTS TO E OUT AS GAY
• COLLEGE & PROFSNAL ATHLET WHO ARE OPENLY GAY
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY

The purpose of this list is to go a b more pth about some of the mors that are surroundg the players, not to nvce the rear that the athlet are gay.

In fact, as society is now much more open to people no matter their orientatn, we have seen a ton more athlet, both active and retired, e out and adm that they are homosexuals, and 's absolutely a great thg. This list will look at some of the most high profile exampl of pro athlet who have had mors about beg gay surroundg them, but aga, none of those are nfirmed and even if they were nfirmed, they would be somethg to celebrate.

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

His ex-wife has acced him of beg gay and that Dunn’s lover om llege actually lived wh them for the first few years of their marriage. Qutns about Aikman's sexual orientatn have been around for s and the mor was started by Skip Bayls, when, his book, he stated that Troy Aikman might be gay. -- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. Per Outsports, as of September 2022, there have only ever been 16 players NFL history to publicly e out as gay or bisexual. Per Outsports, Maxen is the “first publicly out male ach a major Amerin men’s pro sports league, ” wh WNBA ach Curt Miller, who publicly me out to the media as gay 2015, also a publicly out male ach an Amerin profsnal sports league.

ATHLET WHO ARE GAY

Thanks to the proment athlet who are gay, the sports world is beg more and more acceptg of homosexual players. 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, USAOlympic diver Greg Louganis is openly gay.

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

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.

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.

Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St Louis Rams selected him 2021, Carl Nassib, then wh the Las Vegas Rairs, beme the first active NFL player to e out publicly.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN FIRST MALE PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

Four athlet om the Uned Stat jo Canadian Prokop breakg down barriers for gay and bisexual athlet big-time sports. Prokop lled the ont office of the Nashville Predators to let them know he’s gay, then wh their support he me out to the world.

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."Hi, everyone," the 21-year-old left back and central midfielr for the Alai Uned soccer team said the vio. I'm a footballer and I'm gay."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!A member of the Salem-Keizer Volno team as well as an acplished untry mic sger-songwrer, Ruby told USA Today, "I kept thkg about the ltle 14-year-old me, who was sred bee I'm a baseball player who loved untry mic.

Selected the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators, the big fenr has a good shot of makg the regular-season roster."I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay," he wrote a heartfelt msage on social media. 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."What's up people," Nassib said his Instagram post. I jt wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay."He ntued: "I've been meang to do this for a while now but fally feel fortable gettg off my cht.

EACH OF AMERI’S BIG 5 SPORTS CURRENTLY HAS AN OUT GAY MAN THE PROS. THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED

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."He wanted everyone to know he was "still the same Colton everybody met on TV" and is "proud to be gay.".

Hiltz had prevly e out as gay while llege and has been a visible and affirmg prence for gay athlet the past."Hi, I'm Nikki and I'm transgenr," Hiltz wrote the post. 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.

THERE ARE VAR PERSONAL REASONS MORE GAY MALE PRO ATHLET HAVE NOT E OUT. HERE ARE 7 OF THEM

He ially feared negative stereotyp about gay male athlet but threw those ncerns asi after his two-tle performance at the U.S.

Almost a ago, when Robbie Rogers, Jason Colls and Michael Sam all me out publicly three different pro sports leagu wh a year, I was nvced that there would then be a stream of gay and bi pro athlet who followed su and me out publicly.

NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS

Now 2022 we have Carl Nassib out on a new team the NFL, Solomon Bat out on a new team mor league baseball, Le Prokop as an NHL prospect, Coll Mart the USL Champnship, and a few other gay guys playg pro sports while publicly out other untri.

Over the years reportg at Outsports about gay athlet, there has been one most-mon qutn I’ve heard the most often, and ’s picked up steam over the last year: Are we on the precipice of a slew of gay and bi men g out pro sports and changg the game?

I’ve spoken to straight and gay athlet om var generatns — Michael Irv, Chris Kluwe, O’Callaghan, Trenton Thompson — and they’ve each told me that yeah, you’d hear some homophobic stuff high school, but by the time guys enter the ranks of profsnal sports, that’s mostly gone (though Kluwe had choice words and a lawsu for one ach). Send, while homophobic and anti-gay slurs may be rare as athlet elevate to high-level llege and pro sports, nversatns about women still abound.

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

While gay pro baseball player Bryan Ruby has wrten about athlet askg him about his relatnship, I’m not gog to profs that every locker room is que there yet. Still, the weight of agents’ voic is huge, and I know for a fact some agents suggt gay athlet stay the closet. For years I’ve assumed that the percentage of gay men society at large — around 3-4% — is the same as profsnal sports.

Playg out my theory on the other si of sports, men’s ele leagu are domated by straight guys bee so many of the gay and bi athlet have cid to foc on another votn before they get here. He had a theory many years ago (unproven) that gay men gravated to sports bee was a great hidg spot: If you’re a football player, no one assum you’re gay. “We n fively say that gay men are numerilly ls attracted to popular mastream sports and more attracted to athetic sports, ” Anrson told Outsports.

NFL ACH BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. MEN’S PRO SPORTS TO E OUT AS GAY

“This is ls about beg repelled by homophobia than we thought, as cultural homophobia has dropped massively over the s. Instead, gay men are highly over-reprented multiple other sports: sports that are judged, require athetic appeal, and are more dividualistic. If you accept this premise — there are simply fewer gay and bi men who choose profsnal sports than the general populatn — the rt of the reasons substantiate the power of beg a mory of a mory a mory ele-level men’s sports.

Given how few out gay and bi men there are profsnal sports, anyone g out pro sports anytime soon will have that as part of their legacy.

COLLEGE & PROFSNAL ATHLET WHO ARE OPENLY GAY

Carl Nassib beg gay has been a non-story 2022 season, wh him ftg onto the Tampa Bay Bucneers team as jt another player. Sometim the choice gay athlet make to keep their personal liv away om the public has nothg to do wh sports and everythg to do wh fay.

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

Yet football gets blamed for the arth of out football players (spe the NFL havg more current and former out gay and b athlet than all the other men’s Amerin pro leagu bed). Yet athlet and ach themselv n do so so so much more by simply sayg publicly, “Yeah I have no problem wh a gay teammate.

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

Havg more players and ach publicly talk about their gay iends and fay members, addn to their undyg support for people on their team who are gay, n absolutely help gay athlet and ach be their te selv both on the team and to spire others. The Las Vegas Rairs fensive end is now jt one of two openly gay active players the history of the four biggt North Amerin sports leagu (the Natnal Football League, Natnal Basketball Associatn, Major League Baseball and the Natnal Hockey League).

Homophobic language is still a regular feature of playg on a boys’ sports team the US and abroad, Denison’s rearch shows – one of his studi found that more than half of the ice hockey and gby players he terviewed said they’d ed slurs.

Regular exposure to slurs or stereotyp eventually rerc among players that their succs as an athlete is tied to an ia of masculy that exclus gay men, he said.