A gay gymnast's stggle to e out to his llege ach - Outsports

Contents:

• JOSH DIXON, OLYMPICS GYMNASTICS HOPEFUL, COM OUT AS GAY
• A GAY GYMNAST'S STGGLE TO E OUT TO HIS LLEGE ACH
• THERE ARE A RERD 11 OPENLY GAY MALE OLYMPIANS R. NONE IS AN AMERIN.
• FOR GAY OLYMPIC GYMNAST DOMIC CLARKE, G OUT ALLOWED HIM TO SHE TOKYO

JOSH DIXON, OLYMPICS GYMNASTICS HOPEFUL, COM OUT AS GAY

Across our culture today, when a man “ out” so many immediately label him “gay gay gay!

That Leyva don’t intify as gay, is still tryg to figure out how exactly he intifi, and is still willg to share all of this publicly should be empowerg to other men who are the same boat.

A GAY GYMNAST'S STGGLE TO E OUT TO HIS LLEGE ACH

Weeks before the 2016 printial electn, he shared a msage of support for LGBTQ people, and trans rights particular, while wearg a “Make Ameri Gay Aga” T-shirt. The men the sports are eher largely assumed to be gay, or their sexualy is unknown.

Women face the same issu, but reverse: Ice hockey and softball players are assumed gay, figure skaters and gymnasts assumed straight. In the sports where athlet are assumed to be “gay, ” the prsure on athlet is to rist that label so they don’t nform to people’s assumptns. The attus — that some sports are “gay” and some are “straight” — are changg, but they n’t change fast enough.

THERE ARE A RERD 11 OPENLY GAY MALE OLYMPIANS R. NONE IS AN AMERIN.

“Boys beg homosexually abed by their gymnastics ach is an issue that has been rampant for many, many years and, as far as we’re ncerned, do not get the ‘prs’ needs to and should, ” Riegel wrote to USA Gymnastics last October.

Riegel’s own drive to bee an Olympian, to get out of Readg, his own fatuatn wh his growg fame, the screamg girls, the tograph seekers, his fear of how he would be viewed the often homophobic circl of his workg class neighborhood, were all hammers Moyer wield over him to pound down any threats of gog to the police, to his parents, anyone. ’ And he would make me somethg to eat, he’d go to his bedroom, he’d put on a vio on one of those old projector reels and I uld see out of the rner of my eye, a homosexual vio and he’d lay there and pleasure himself wh me at 11, 12, 13, right there the room on the uch which was pla sight of his bed.

Riegel wouldn’t tell bee if he did people Southsi would thk he was gay, Moyer ntued, Riegel said. “This was a time when homophobia was rampant Ameri, pecially where he grew up, ” Chris Sey said.

FOR GAY OLYMPIC GYMNAST DOMIC CLARKE, G OUT ALLOWED HIM TO SHE TOKYO

“And was pound by the AIDS crisis and you already had that fear of beg acced of beg gay bee of the sport you were . “I’m gog to ask you this one time: Are you gay?

Riegel, then jt 16, earned a standg ovatn at the meet after upsettg Mch Gaylord to w the vlt. Gaylord would go on to w four medals at the 1984 Olympic Gam, cludg a silver the vlt, and bee the first Amerin male to post a perfect 10. “When you’re 12, 13, 14 years old and you’re askg yourself am I gay?

I mt be gay.