Jason Colls’ return to NBA spired Derrick Gordon to e out as gay - NBC Sports

Contents:

• UMASS' DERRICK GORDON SAYS HE'S GAY
• UMASS GUARD DERRICK GORDON BE FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE D-I BASKETBALL PLAYER
• UMASS BASKETBALL PLAYER ANNOUNC HE'S GAY
• THE LIST OF GAY SLURS LLEGE BASKETBALL FANS ED AGAST DERRICK GORDON
• THE NCAA HAS ITS FIRST OPENLY GAY MEN’S D-I BASKETBALL PLAYER
• UMASS BASKETBALL PLAYER DERRICK GORDON OUT AS GAY
• UMASS BASKETBALL PLAYER ANNOUNC HE’S GAY
• UMASS GUARD DERRICK GORDON COM OUT AS GAY
• DERRICK GORDON IS GAY -- UMASS BASKETBALL PLAYER COM OUT
• BOOMER ESIASON ON DERRICK GORDON'S G OUT AND GAYS SPORTS SOON NOT BEG A STORY
• JASON COLLS’ RETURN TO NBA SPIRED DERRICK GORDON TO E OUT AS GAY
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

UMASS' DERRICK GORDON SAYS HE'S GAY

Derrick Gordon Announc He Is Gay (8:31)UMass guard Derrick Gordon ss down wh Kate Fagan to announce that he is gay, beg the first openly gay athlete Divisn I men's basketball. Derrick Gordon, a sophomore starter for the Universy of Massachetts men's basketball team, stepped forward Wednday as the first openly gay player Divisn I men's llege basketball, sharg his story wh ESPN and 22-year-old shootg guard me out to his fay, ach and teammat jt a few days at the begng of April.

Colls, who publicly acknowledged his sexualy April 2013, beme the first openly gay player NBA history when he took the urt agast the Los Angel Lakers on Feb. "UMass is proud to have Derrick Gordon as a member of our athletic fay and to honor his urage and openns as a gay stunt-athlete, " athletic director John McCutcheon said a wrten statement. "Sophomore forward Tyler Berganto said that even before Gordon addrsed his teammat, there was somethg different his meanor.

M., the ball was tipped at UMass’s Mulls Center, and Gordon beme the first openly gay athlete to play a game Divisn I men’s basketball.

UMASS GUARD DERRICK GORDON BE FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE D-I BASKETBALL PLAYER

“I expect to see some gay flags, ” he said, sg at the fished wh 17 pots as UMass feated Siena, 95-87, ont of a crowd of 8, 187, the largt at Mulls Center to open a season sce 1997.

”When Gordon, 22, announced that he is gay on April 9, he beme perhaps the most famo UMass basketball player sce Marc Camby. “I know ’s gay-iendly on mp. I’d see gay flags om time to time, or gay upl holdg hands.

UMASS BASKETBALL PLAYER ANNOUNC HE'S GAY

“You watch the guys on the urt, and you uld never tell that one of them is gay. The nearby cy of Holyoke has the natn’s youngt openly gay mayor, Alex Morse, who was 22 when he was elected 2011. Northampton, a muny of about 30, 000, has held a gay pri ftival and para each of the past 33 years.

THE LIST OF GAY SLURS LLEGE BASKETBALL FANS ED AGAST DERRICK GORDON

“I do know for a fact I’m not gog to be the only gay person the buildg, ” Gordon said.

When asked if he believed that there was another gay player llege basketball this season, Gordon psed. 3hMike Coppger and Ben BabyplayDerrick Gordon Announc He Is Gay (8:31)UMass guard Derrick Gordon ss down wh Kate Fagan to announce that he is gay, beg the first openly gay athlete Divisn I men's basketball. A mute later, the sophomore shootg guard stood and walked to the room, acpanied by Universy of Massachetts men's basketball ach Derek Kellogg.

"I wanted to let you all know I'm gay, " the ach said. That same week, he sat down to share his story wh ESPN and OutSports, beg the first openly gay male player Divisn I basketball.

THE NCAA HAS ITS FIRST OPENLY GAY MEN’S D-I BASKETBALL PLAYER

5 rebounds a game this had closely watched the news around NBA veteran Jason Colls and NFL prospect Michael Sam, both of whom are active players and have publicly acknowledged beg gay. Y., who me out as gay last year. "Before DG even said anythg, I uld sense that a weight was lifted om him, " sophomore center Tyler Berganto said.

"The first teammate to rpond was sophomore guard Trey Davis. And as a teen stgglg wh his inty, he didn't know where to turn for the time he was ready to tell his parents, Gordon had ltle practice actually sayg the words "I am gay" out loud. "Are you gay?

UMASS BASKETBALL PLAYER DERRICK GORDON OUT AS GAY

"Durg the next few days, Darryl thought on some more, eventually tellg Derrick he would give him his full of the mon reas surroundg gay athlet, specifilly their cisn to go public, is they will somehow bee a "distractn" to their teams, a sishow for media and fans.

UMASS BASKETBALL PLAYER ANNOUNC HE’S GAY

But he says his greatt spiratn me when the Brooklyn Nets signed Colls Febary, makg him the first openly gay active player NBA history.

Hopefully I'll fally see a gay flag the stands, which I've never seen before.

Nearly a year after Jason Colls beme the first active NBA player to publicly reveal that he's gay, the New Jersey Nets center's bravery has spired a llege player to feel fortable dog the guard Derrick Gordon beme the first openly gay Divisn I basketball player when he revealed his sexualy articl published by and on Wednday morng. One week earlier, Gordon rmed his teammat he was gay at a team meetg, a revelatn that was met first wh surprise and immediately afterward wh support.

UMASS GUARD DERRICK GORDON COM OUT AS GAY

"Gordon, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, started for UMass this past season and averaged 9. Closeted gay athlet llege basketball and elsewhere surely will notice what happens to Gordon and weigh whether they too n feel fortable steppg Gordon's Instagram post Wednday morng is any ditn, he's thrilled wh his cisn so far. Bee he was gay, he distanced himself om teammat.

DERRICK GORDON IS GAY -- UMASS BASKETBALL PLAYER COM OUT

Gordon beme the first openly gay player Divisn I men's basketball on Wednday, makg the announcement on ESPN and Outsports. The sophomore rmed UMass ach Derek Kellogg the next day.

"The fact that he's gay don't change anythg, " Berganto said. "We didn't know he was gay before. We know he's gay now.

BOOMER ESIASON ON DERRICK GORDON'S G OUT AND GAYS SPORTS SOON NOT BEG A STORY

In Febary, he beme the first openly gay male athlete the four major North Amerin pro sports leagu when he signed wh the Brooklyn Nets. Derrick Gordon jt pleted his first regular season as an openly gay llege basketball player for the Universy of Massachetts, the only such Divisn I men's player. Here are all the gay slurs opposg fans have hurled agast Gordon this year:.

JASON COLLS’ RETURN TO NBA SPIRED DERRICK GORDON TO E OUT AS GAY

Gordon has not heard anythg anti-gay yelled this season while he played for the Mutemen, who head to the Atlantic 10 Conference playoffs this week a bid to make the NCAA tournament. The first regular season for the first openly gay Divisn I men's basketball player... Has managed to yield zero anti-gay slurs, tnts, barbs, jeers or sults.

The story -- wrten by my iend Chuck Culpepper, a fantastic wrer who is himself openly gay -- not that g out has been nothg but personally posive to Gordon. He is sought by other gay athlet, and out of the closet, as a role mol. Even Gordon surmised that homophob might be keepg quiet lt their fellow fans turn on them.

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

But more importantly, the way which the first openly gay Divisn I men's basketball player was embraced by his team and thrived has ma a roundg succs. UMass sophomore Derrick Gordon today beme the first Divisn I men’s basketball player to e out publicly.

[T]he sophomore shootg guard stood and walked to the room, acpanied by Universy of Massachetts men’s basketball ach Derek Kellogg. “I wanted to let you all know I’m gay, ” the ach said. Outsports’ Cyd Zeigler reports that last summer Gordon—still ostensibly straight the ey of most people he knew—“liked” an Instagram picture of himself and his then-boyiend taken ont of a gay bar.

Teammat began teasg him for beg gay, though he nied .

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

(Gordon lls the time between realizg he was gay and g out “the worst four years of my life.