Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen out as gay a first for US-based pro leagu | AP News

Contents:

• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN FIRST MALE PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE PCHER T.J. HOE OUT AS GAY
• THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE REFLECTS ON G OUT, COORS FIELD AND THE ‘ROBO-UMPIRE’
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• ‘DALE, WE KNOW YOU’RE GAY. WE DON’T RE.’ HOW A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE ME OUT
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU
• NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS
• 'IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME FOR THIS:' BRYAN RUBY BE ONLY ACTIVE PRO BASEBALL PLAYER TO BE OUT AS GAY
• 9 BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO CAME OUT AS GAY

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

McCoy for The New York TimHis Sexualy Don’t Defe Him, but It Can Set Him ApartEric Bach is an openly gay broadster for the Frericksburg Natnals. Three years earlier, while he was studyg journalism at Michigan State Universy, he had publicly e out as gay an say he wrote for the time of the say, he braced for a backlash, but nothg materialized. He worked his way up om ternships to full-time broadstg jobs, and while anyone wh an ter nnectn uld learn he was gay, nobody asked, and he did not say so aga publicly.

It was bil and ugly, filled wh “every gay slur you uld thk of, ” Bach said.

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

It was paful at the time — the worst thg that had happened to him as a gay man, he said — but has reced far enough to his memory that did not e to md an hourlong terview about his experienc as a gay broadster.

As far as Bach knows — and as far as many of his unterparts wh other teams are aware — there are no other openly gay broadsters the sport.

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

McCoy for The New York TimBorn to BroadstLong before he knew he was gay, Bach knew he wanted to be a sports father was a ach, and a love of sports ran through the fay.

”)He began to accept that he was gay durg his sophomore year of high school, but wh that acceptance me worry. As a multisport athlete, Bach was often locker rooms filled wh chos of homophobic slurs and gay jok.

’”By the start of his sophomore year at Michigan State, Bach was ready to tell his parents that he was gay, tchg his father off guard but nfirmg what his mother had prevly assumed.

FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE PCHER T.J. HOE OUT AS GAY

He did each job to the bt of his abily, and his sexualy never me, he has found that there’s a difference between beg a gay man baseball and beg pletely fortable as one. “I was sually like, ‘You know I’m gay, right? That uncertaty mak him feel self-nsc a way he believ is mon for gay people mostly straight spac.

“I feel like that’s the burn a lot of gay people live wh — tryg to be perfect for straight people, ” he job requir equent teractn wh the players and the achg staff — addn to his duti as play-by-play announcer, Bach also is the ma public relatns ntact for the team — and he said he hadn’t fully relaxed any of them. The environment is not hostile, but Bach never fets that he is the only openly gay person the room. Mrer/Frericksburg NatnalsThat feelg is somewhat “self-flicted, ” Bach said, but he believ the solutn is to brg more openly gay people to sports and create a safe environment for those who are already there but have felt necsary to hi their League Baseball has touted self as a place of clivy.

Billy Bean, an openly gay former player, was named the league’s first ambassador for cln 2014 and has sce been promoted to senr vice print and special assistant to Commissner Rob Maned. In Febary, Anrson Comás, a mor leaguer the Chigo Whe Sox anizatn, me out as gay wh a post on Instagram, and the announcement was met wh public support om his club and some people around the cints suggt there is more work to be done.

THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE REFLECTS ON G OUT, COORS FIELD AND THE ‘ROBO-UMPIRE’

The Boston Red Sox lled up a mor leaguer, Matt Dermody, who had posted an anti-gay msage on Twter 2021, and Anthony Bass, a reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays, reposted a vio on social media that lled for boytts of L. “Those of that are this very small mory sports have to keep on havg the nversatns, keep on workg really ick’ hard to earn your spot this space, ” he aspir to be a gay person at home a big-league booth.

McCoy for The New York TimA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 27 of the New York edn wh the headle: A Gay Broadster Climbs the Ladr, But It’s Been Lonely.

Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars strength ach, Kev Maxen, has e out as gay — makg him the first male ach a U.

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

While Maxen is believed to be the first male ach to have e out publicly as gay, there have been a few female ach U.

‘DALE, WE KNOW YOU’RE GAY. WE DON’T RE.’ HOW A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE ME OUT

When to players, there have only been 16 the history of the NFL to e out as gay or bisexual as of September 2022, per Outsports. 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. Hoe me out as gay and announced his engagement to his partner, Ryan Nezel, an emotnal social media post, who pched for the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays om 2014 to 2017, said he lived out his childhood dream of playg profsnal baseball Cleveland at 23, but that he ed as a “dg” to “numb what was really gog on si.

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

In 2014, Dale Stt beme the first active Major League Baseball umpire to e out as gay. Stt was ducted to the Natnal Gay and Lbian Sports Hall of Fame 2015 and has sce wrten a memoir about his reer. On the rponse he’s gotten om the gay muny after umpirg the majors for more than three s and penng a memoir “The Umpire is Out: Callg the Game and Livg My Te Self”: SCOTT: The people I’ve talked to on this book tour, tellg me my story changed their life, my story gave them the urage to do this, or … this one lbian uple San Francis, she was, I gave her a big hug bee she said, “You don’t know how much hearg about you a game I love …” and that kd of stuff.

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

And you were gay and you were out!

But you know gays, we love to make an ex (lghs).

-based profsnal league to e out as gay. Stt me out as gay 2014.

'IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME FOR THIS:' BRYAN RUBY BE ONLY ACTIVE PRO BASEBALL PLAYER TO BE OUT AS GAY

The first time any of my lleagu said anythg to me about beg gay was durg sprg trag ’98 or ’99.

Dale, we know you’re gay.

9 BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO CAME OUT AS GAY

For one thg, they had a stereotypil ia their md of what a gay person is like.