For gay high school football player, simple team photo meant a lot - Outsports

Contents:

• BASEBALL PLAYED VAL ROLE FOR GAY JOCK TURNED DOC HIS G OUT
• LIFE WAS HELL FOR A GAY TEEN JOCK
• FOR OPENLY GAY JOCK, G OUT TO TEAMMAT THE HARST PART
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN IS FIRST AMERIN MALE PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• IT WAS A SIMPLE TEAM PHOTO, BUT MEANT THE WORLD TO GAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

BASEBALL PLAYED VAL ROLE FOR GAY JOCK TURNED DOC HIS G OUT

This Philly kid wanted to throw right, bat right, be a Christian, play for the Philli and never ever be gay. At the same time that I was a hard-chargg jock, I was fightg my ternal battl of fulfillg that last le of my imagary baseball rd: Don’t ever, ever be gay.

LIFE WAS HELL FOR A GAY TEEN JOCK

Beg gay fely was not ol when I was growg up and seemed every other word out of a kid’s mouth was “that’s gay.

” The nnotatn of gay was always negative, lame and stupid.

If you would trip when nng to first base, you’re gay. If you stck out, you’re gay.

FOR OPENLY GAY JOCK, G OUT TO TEAMMAT THE HARST PART

If you gave another guy a pliment, make sure you say “no homo, ” bee God forbid we would pliment each other. To this day, I never e gay slurs and rrect anyone who them my prence. The world of beg a Christian athlete allowed me to keep my ternal battl where they belonged and was able to “pray the gay away.

While studyg to bee a doctor and tryg to be the bt hband I uld be, I was tormented by thoughts such as “Was I gay?

This sight led me to stg down wh my dad at a Philli game and, after many Bud Lights, tellg him that I was gay.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

I did not f the stereotype of what society views as a gay man and my father was pretty floored.

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

I was born this way and I wish that I didn’t have the stggl of worryg if I was gay, worryg if I was gog to Hell, worryg about the jock rhetoric, worryg about my acceptance my small Christian world. I am a gay jock doc and am nstantly evolvg, and am still a huge Philli fan. My updated baseball rd now reads: Bats right, throws right, gay and proud.

On the b home after a victory the players serenad him wh "YMCA" and "It's Rag Men"; when he attend gay youth nferenc and pri march, they asked for souvenir T-shirts. Corey beme an articulate spokman for gay civil rights, hung out wh senators and movie stars, and even appeared (wearg football pads and eye black) an ad for the Mchell Gold furnure pany. Greg says that s msage mt be heard by the many gay athlet who may thk that bee Corey me out to broad acceptance, even reverence, the ast is clear for everyone else to do the same.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

The clost gay bar is the "big cy" of Elmira, N.

Like many teenagers stgglg wh homosexualy, the Inter opened up an amazg world. Many gay youths fd this to be an empowerg, life-affirmg disvery.

"I didn't know any gay people around here. The only time the subject of homosexualy arose was as a joke.

IT WAS A SIMPLE TEAM PHOTO, BUT MEANT THE WORLD TO GAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER

Even the lol newspaper, the Daily Review nearby Towanda, ran regular diatrib agast homosexualy, sometim cg the North Amerin Man-Boy Love Associatn as a reprentative gay anizatn.

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

The next year, a gay chat room, was the first time he typed the words "I am gay. He locked himself his fay's puter room, spendg every night prowlg the Web for rmatn and chattg wh other gay youths.

"I jt didn't know how to go about beg gay, " he explas.