Seattle Sounrs' Marc Burch: MLS will accept gay players |

Contents:

• COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS
• COLL MART, MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYER, SAYS, 'I'M GAY'
• SEATTLE SOUNRS' MARC BURCH: MLS WILL ACCEPT GAY PLAYERS
• THE FIRST OUT, GAY PLAYER MLS HISTORY IS SHOCKED THAT RSL ACH ALLEGEDLY SHOUTED A HOMOPHOBIC SLUR AT A REF
• FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYER MATT HATZKE OUT AS GAY
• JOSH CAVALLO ANNOUNC HE'S GAY AND THE SOCCER WORLD RALLI SUPPORT: 'I N BE MY THENTIC SELF'
• HOW GAY SOCCER PLAYER HELPED LGBTQ SUPPORTER GROUP GET OFFICIAL REGNN OM MLS TEAM

COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS

Moments earlier, an opposg player targeted Mart, an openly gay man, wh a homophobic slur, and as they gathered unr a tent at halftime, they discsed how to team was agreement: Somethg need to be done. "Flemmgs was later spend for six gam by the league, and he nied g an anti-gay slur toward Mart. "Beg able to have a posive msage e out of a really tough suatn was the silver lg, " he the only openly gay men's profsnal soccer player the Uned Stat -- and one of the few who have ever e out globally -- Mart has e to embrace the signifince of what he reprents, pecially for the LGBTQ+ muny.

COLL MART, MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYER, SAYS, 'I'M GAY'

Play1:48Coll Mart: Locker room support was all I needSan Diego Loyal midfielr Coll Mart says the support om his old teammat at Mnota Uned was a big help to him when he me out as gay. Around those years, havg to hi, havg to remd myself that like, 'Oh, my bt iend on the team, who jt lled another person a f----t, he isn't really homophobic, but he is jt tryg to be hurtful to that person.

SEATTLE SOUNRS' MARC BURCH: MLS WILL ACCEPT GAY PLAYERS

"Mart is not unique that he didn't have ach who were willg to step to put an end to homophobic language when was ed. Coll Mart, a soccer player for Mnota Uned, announced on Twter Friday that he is gay, beg the only openly gay male player any of the major North Amerin sports leagu. It's an important night for me — I'll be announcg that I am an openly gay player Major League Soccer, " the player an exclive terview wh NBC News, Mart said his teammat already knew that he was gay before he me out publicly.

”In an terview wh NBC News, Hudson Taylor, the executive director of Athlete Ally, a group that aims to end the homophobia sports, said Mart jos a select group of male profsnal athlet who me out publicly. “We n still unt the number of current or former openly gay athlet on pretty much two hands, ” he said.

THE FIRST OUT, GAY PLAYER MLS HISTORY IS SHOCKED THAT RSL ACH ALLEGEDLY SHOUTED A HOMOPHOBIC SLUR AT A REF

“Sport teach a very narrow fn of masculy and femy, " Taylor said, "and if you don’t nform to that very narrow fn, you’re gonna be met wh a culture that a lot of homophobic, sexist language, and as a rult is not perceived to be a very acceptg space.

"We know there’s a dropoff on the llegiate level and the profsnal level” of gay players, he are g out at younger ag now, he said, but many current players are most likely still closeted.

FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYER MATT HATZKE OUT AS GAY

— Some day, an openly gay male athlete will play for a profsnal team. Burch was hand a three-game spensn by MLS last fall for g a gay slur durg a natnally televised playoff game, and will serve the third game of that spensn durg the team's season opener on Saturday agast Montreal (10:30 pm ET, MLS Live). The Sounrs left back has a gay sister and is a former llege teammate of Robbie Rogers, the former Columb Crew midfielr who ma headl a uple weeks ago when he me out.

Real Salt Lake head ach Mike Petke shouts stctns to his players, durg MLS soccer actn between Real Salt Lake and Atlanta Uned at R Tto Stadium Sandy, Friday, May 24, first Major League Soccer player who ever took the field as an openly gay man was surprised to learn that Real Salt Lake ach Mike Petke reportedly shouted an anti-gay slur at game Rogers, who retired om the Los Angel Galaxy 2017, said he hasn’t followed the Petke cint closely, but that he’s “sort of shocked” that the ach — “the lear of the guys the locker room and the face of the club right now” — would rort to a homophobic slur.

JOSH CAVALLO ANNOUNC HE'S GAY AND THE SOCCER WORLD RALLI SUPPORT: 'I N BE MY THENTIC SELF'

”Rogers said the e of anti-gay slurs “really srs” LGBTQ kids when they hear them at gam. Neher the league nor RSL has specified exactly what Petke said, but multiple outlets — cludg The Athletic — have reported that the ach shouted a Spanish-language, anti-gay slur at the official. (In 2013, MLS spend a San Jose player, Alan Gordon, for three gam for g a homophobic slur.

HOW GAY SOCCER PLAYER HELPED LGBTQ SUPPORTER GROUP GET OFFICIAL REGNN OM MLS TEAM

”“They have to be a b harsher wh" homophobic slurs, he said. ”Rogers poted to the fact that MLS clubs have held gay pri nights and supported the LGBTQ muny.

”In 2018, FIFA fed Mexi’s soccer feratn $30, 000 bee Mexin fans shouted the same anti-gay slur at a World Cup game, and the ach and players took to social media to try to stop om happeng aga. I tly believed that I uld never e out as gay while playg profsnal soccer. It was large part bee of the stori of other gay athlet I read on the se that I found my path forward.

June 2013 was monumental the gay-rights movement California, as Proposn 8 was repealed and we said good-bye to DOMA. Some of my lifelong iends were the Cy to celebrate wh me, and - spe them beg straight - they were supportive and open to gog to the gay bars wh me for the first time.