There will be no out gay male tennis players at the U.S. Open - Outsports

Contents:

• A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPENLY GAY OLYMPIANS
• MAY 1, 1981: THE DAY BILLIE JEAN KG PUBLICLY ME OUT AS GAY
• THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA
• IN SEARCH OF THE ELIVE GAY OR BISEXUAL MALE TENNIS PLAYER
• OPENLY GAY PLAYER LENDALE JOHNSON HAILS ROGER FERER, NOVAK DJOKOVIC & ANDY MURRAY FOR THEIR SUPPORT

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPENLY GAY OLYMPIANS

Figure skater Adam Rippon will be one of two openly gay Amerins petg the 2018 Wter Olympics, a first for the U. But there’s one thg Rippon won’t be hidg – this year, he and etyle skier G Kenworthy will bee the first openly gay Amerin men to ever pete the Wter Olympics. Even so, the last time that the Uned Stat sent an openly gay man to any Olympic Gam was 2004, when equtrians Guenter Seil and Robert Dover won bronze team drsage.

It was Dover’s sixth time reprentg the Uned Stat at the Olympics; durg his send Gam, 1988, Dover me out, beg the first openly gay athlete to pete the morn Olympics. "I wish that all gay athlet would e out all discipl – football, baseball, the Olympics, whatever, " Dover has said. Ined, by the time Dover me out on the ternatnal stage, was clear that gay athlet were petg and wng all levels of profsnal sports.

MAY 1, 1981: THE DAY BILLIE JEAN KG PUBLICLY ME OUT AS GAY

) And 1982, former Olympian Tom Wadll – who would die om AIDS at the height of the epimic five years later – helped found the first Gay Gam for LGBT athlet. Curry acknowledged that the mors about his sexualy were te, but when journalists asked prient qutns betrayg the era’s misnceptns about homosexualy and masculy, Curry fought back: “I don’t thk I lack virily, and what other people thk of me don’t matter, ” he said. There, a fiery, unflchg athletic spectacle, Curry abandoned his ual lively route of skips and hops for a stern technil masterpiece, makg him the first openly gay athlete to perform on the Olympic stage.

THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA

LGBT journalists and historians, cludg Zeigler and Tony Scupham-Bilton, have talogued the many Olympians who were homosexual but peted a time before beg “out” was safe and acceptable. German nner Otto Peltzer, for stance, peted the 1928 and 1932 Olympics, but was arrted by the Nazis 1934 for his homosexualy and was later sent to the ncentratn mps. Louganis was long mored to be gay, but didn’t e out publicly until the openg ceremoni of the 1994 Gay Gam: "Wele to the Gay Gam, ” Louganis said to the crowd.

Though the early history of openly gay Olympians is dotted wh male athlet, openly gay women have quietly gaed prevalence recent petns. At the 2008 Summer Olympics Beijg, 11 openly gay athlet peted, only one of whom – Atralian diver Matthew Mcham, who won gold and is a vol LGBT activist – was a man.

IN SEARCH OF THE ELIVE GAY OR BISEXUAL MALE TENNIS PLAYER

All six openly gay athlet at the 2010 Wter Olympics Vanuver were women, as were all seven of the openly gay athlet at the 2014 Wter Olympics Sochi.

Both of the terveng Summer Olympics saw a greater turnout of openly gay athlet, but women still held the large majory. Women’s basketball team – Delle Donne, Brtney Grer, Seimone Augt and Angel McCoughtry––were openly gay.

Wh this year’s Wter Gam Pyeongchang, Rippon and Kenworthy are the first openly gay Amerin men to pete the Olympics sce the legaly of same-sex marriage was tablished throughout the Uned Stat 2015, and the cultural shift is apparent. The summer before hostg the Wter Olympics, what many saw as an afont to gay rights activism, the Rsian ernment passed a law prohibg the promotn of “nontradnal” sexual relatnships to mors.

OPENLY GAY PLAYER LENDALE JOHNSON HAILS ROGER FERER, NOVAK DJOKOVIC & ANDY MURRAY FOR THEIR SUPPORT

The Uned Stat ed the Olympic platform as an opportuny for subtle prott, cludg proment gay athlet Brian Boano, Billie Jean Kg and Cal Cahow s Olympic legatn, and protts were staged across the world. Rippon recently ma headl when he refed an offer to meet wh Vice Print Mike Pence due to disagreements wh his stanc on LGBT rights – which clu past statements that appear to support fundg gay nversn therapy.