Sports Stars Who Battled Gay Rumors

collins gay football player

Carl Nassib's announcement mak him the first gay active NFL player, and Jason Colls, who broke that barrier the NBA, explas what might lie ahead.

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A NVERSATN WH T.J. CALLAN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GAY BLACK MEN G OUT SPORTS

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. * collins gay football player *

Callan has long regnized the tersectnaly of beg a gay man, a black man and a gay black man. Callan, 22, left the Miami program after experiencg what he scribed as a hostile environment, where gay people were spoken of rogatory terms, ultimately keepg him the closet. Outsports recently spoke wh Callan about how the history of black athlet g out, and specifilly black gay men, has been particularly meangful to him.

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

Two proment exampl whose g out announcements had an impact beyond sports are Jason Colls, the first NBA player to e out 2013, and Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted the NFL 2014. Derrick Gordon was the first active Divisn I men’s basketball player to e out as gay 2014.

”A person of lor has to al wh not only beg gay, but beg black, and then beg black and gay, ” Callan said.

In addn, Callan says gay black men often al wh what he lls the hypermasculy black culture. Further, Callan says that as a black man the larger gay culture “you do experience racism wh the gay muny.

JASON COLLS ME OUT 10 YEARS AGO, HERG A PERD OF CREASG GAY VISIBILY MEN’S SPORTS

As an example of the latter, he relled meetg one whe gay man who told Callan, “‘I thought you were gonna be ghetto, you’re not, ’ and I’m like, ‘What are you talkg about?

And you would thk that a lot of gay men would unrstand and empathize wh the fact that you are a part of multiple margalized muni, but a lot of s, there is a lack of unrstandg. Michael Sam ma history 2014 as the first openly gay player drafted the NFL.

SPORTS STARS WHO BATTLED GAY RUMORS

He also appreciated as a football player that someone like Sam uld e out what is nsired a hypermascule sport bee challenged the ia and stereotyp lkg beg gay to “beg weak.

“I felt very secure about [beg gay] and I feel like maybe they picked up on bee I didn’t want to speak about .

JAGUARS ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Sce g out, Callan says he has received nothg but posive ments and support, and says his only regret durg his llege years was not havg other active gay football players he uld reach out to. Jason Colls says he's news servicApr 29, 2013, 11:46 AM ETNBA 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.

"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playg a major Amerin team sport.

Me personally gay men the locked room would make me unfortable.

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

As Amerins grow more acceptg of gay rights and same-sex marriage. Last year, durg his re-electn mpaign, Print Barack Obama announced his support for gay after Colls disclosed his sexualy, Obama reached out by phone, exprsg his support and tellg Colls he was imprsed by his urage, the Whe Hoe Print Bill Clton, whose dghter Chelsea attend Stanford wh Colls, also appld Colls' announcement.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* COLLINS GAY FOOTBALL PLAYER

Jason Colls, first openly gay athlete to play NBA, mak U.S. sports history.

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