8 Male Football Players who Dared to Come Out As Gay [2023 Update]

openly gay male athletes

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.

Contents:

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 * openly gay male athletes *

Maxen origally ntacted gay NFL player Carl Nassib Febary 2022, who then nnected Maxen wh Outsports. 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. "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! Natnal Hockey League prospect Le Prokop me out as gay July, the first active player the league to e out.

"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. 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.

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

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. * openly gay male athletes *

"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.

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

For the first time, pro baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer has an out gay male player unr ntract. * openly gay male athletes *

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

The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars strength ach, Kev Maxen, has e out as gay — makg him the first male ach a U.

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. 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.

ATHLET WHO ARE GAY

* openly gay male athletes *

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 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.

OPENLY GAY ATHLET

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

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.

COLLEGE & PROFSNAL ATHLET WHO ARE OPENLY GAY

Photos of athlet who have e out publicly as gay. * openly gay male athletes *

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. 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.

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.

LGBTQ REARCHER HAS 2 THEORI ON LACK OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS MALE TEAM SPORTS

List of openly gay athlet volved both profsnal and llege sports. This list clus athlet who have "e out" durg their active ... * openly gay male athletes *

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.

MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY

Rearcher Rory Magrath says he thks ternatnal travel and a possible arth of ele gay male athlet are far more rponsible than homophobia. * openly gay male athletes *

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 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. Four athlet om the Uned Stat jo Canadian Prokop breakg down barriers for gay and bisexual athlet big-time sports.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

Eric Anrson, Openly Gay Athlet: Conttg Hegemonic Masculy a Homophobic Environment, Genr and Society, Vol. 16, No. 6 (Dec., 2002), pp. 860-877 * openly gay male athletes *

In addn, there have been out gay athlet like Andrew Goldste playg other sports like lacrosse. 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. The number doubl the 40 openly gay, lbian and bisexual women who peted of the women are om North and South Ameri, Europe, Atralia and New Zealand, Outsports reported.

Meanwhile, the 2022 Men’s World Cup was set to be hosted Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal and punishable by up to three years prison. The associatn’s cisn prompted some fans and athlet — cludg the first openly gay major league soccer player — to speak out.

“If actns speak lour than words, then the msage FIFA sends to gay athlet is pafully clear.

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

Carl Nassib is the first to ever play a down as openly gay, but the rt are still trailblazers. * openly gay male athletes *

Not only don’t they have our backs, our liv don’t matter, ” Robbie Rogers, one of the first openly gay major league soccer players, said a 2015 opn article for USA Today after FIFA announced the untri that would host the upg tournaments.

After g out as gay an Instagram post 2020, Bank hop to show younger athlet “that they n be whomever they are, or want to be, whout discrimatn. Jason Brown (@jasonbskat) is an openly gay figure skater reprentg Team USA. Guillme Cizeron (@GuillmeCIZ) is an openly gay figure skater petg for Team France.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* OPENLY GAY MALE ATHLETES

Meet the 16 out gay and bi players NFL history - Outsports .

TOP