Kev Maxen be first male ach a US men’s pro sports league to publicly e out as gay | CNN

Contents:

• THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY
• THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA
• TOP NAM COME IN SUPPORT OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS ON THE MEN’S TOUR
• WHY ARE THERE NO OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN’S PROFSNAL TENNIS?
• TIMELINE: WHY ARE THERE NO OPENLY GAY PLAYERS ELE MEN’S TENNIS?
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• "IF THERE'S A GAY PLAYER THE LOCKER ROOM, NOTHG HAPPENS" - DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN, THE LATT STAR TO SUPPORT THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT
• FRZ SAYS OPENLY GAY PLAYER WOULD BE ACCEPTED ON ATP TOUR
• ATHLETE’S GOAL IS TO REACH THE TOP AS AN OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL TENNIS PLAYER
• THE GAY TENNIS PLAYERS SMASHG DOWN BARRIERS AS WIMBLEDON 2023 GETS UNRWAY
• GAY DARTMOUTH TENNIS PLAYER WANTS MORE MEN’S PLAYERS TO E OUT TO CREASE VISIBILY
• TENNIS' LAST TABOO: WHY NO OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYERS?
• QUERREY: ‘THERE’S GOT TO BE SOMEONE WHO PLAYS TENNIS WHO IS GAY’
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY

As a former men’s llegiate tennis player and openly gay member of my team, this qutn nagged at me as I attend the monumental first ever Pri event at the U. After all of the homophobia I have personally experienced sports, the panelists and the packed dience gave me so much hope for the future of cln sports. The trailblazer for gay visibily on the ATP tour scribed himself durg the panel discsn as “an anx guy and an anx tennis player, ” statg that his disfort wh his sexual orientatn throughout his life was a signifint ntributor to his anxiety.

To me, the fact that Vahaly was even able to make on tour as a closeted gay man the 2000s mak him que an anomaly.

The days, top players Roger Ferer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have all publicly stated that they would wele an out gay man to the ATP.

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

While we now celebrate Kg for her acplishments as a gay rights activist, the sacrific she had to make and terrors that she endured for wantg to be her thentic self after beg outed towards the end of her profsnal tennis reer – nearly 40 years ago – are unjtifiable.

TOP NAM COME IN SUPPORT OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS ON THE MEN’S TOUR

Combe that wh gay and bisexual men reprentg a signifintly smaller portn of the populatn than heterosexual men, and the odds of havg one of makg through the ranks growg up and currently beg a profsnal tennis player are slim, no matter how welg players such as Ferer, Djokovic and Murray are 2019. There uld be someone makg their way up the rankgs junrs right now, who hopefully will not be terred om tennis for beg a gay or bisexual man, who will see events such as the U. The most tellg sign of the lack of out gay men profsnal tennis is that the only player wearg any rabow apparel this summer was a straight guy who had to apologize for g gay slurs durg the Olympics.

Open starts s two-week n New York, I feel pelled to rehash this prsg statistic: There will once aga be no openly gay male players at one of the sport’s premier events. “To be hont, I’m somewhat surprised that there still hasn’t been an out active ATP Tour level player, ” said Nick Lee, a former llege tennis player at Vassar who is openly gay.

WHY ARE THERE NO OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN’S PROFSNAL TENNIS?

The absence of out male pro tennis players is noteworthy a summer that saw the first gay NFL player and gay NHL prospect e out and a rerd number of out LGBTQ Olympians, cludg the most men ever. C., foced on the dividual nature of the sport when tellg Outsports why he thks gay pro tennis players stay closeted. “There are no out gay players on the ATP tour bee most players don’t pick up a racket hop to be a role mol for an entire margalized muny, ” Bradley said.

But the fear that an out player would be hound by the media has been molished by how quickly the Carl Nassib story fad after the Las Vegas Rairs fensive leman me out as gay June. I thk “gay male pro tennis player out” would be a story that quickly fas as an obssn a culture where “breakg news” gets old really fast. -based group whose webse says works “to challenge homophobia, biphobia and transphobia sport and improve accs to sport for LGBT+ people.

TIMELINE: WHY ARE THERE NO OPENLY GAY PLAYERS ELE MEN’S TENNIS?

“I don’t know how many straight guys wake up, ” he said, “and, while they’re bshg their teeth, thk: ‘I wonr if gay people are all right tennis? The ATP qutnnaire clus lks to rearch om the Internatnal Olympic Commtee and the Amerin Medil Society for Sports Medice that, the survey says, “found everyone’s mental health and sport performance n be negatively impacted if a sport culture is not welg to gay and bisexual people. Other topics clud what factors ntribute the most to there beg no openly gay active profsnal male tennis players, whether the rponnt agre wh the ATP’s sire “to bat homophobia sport” and whether he “would publicly support a gay or bisexual tennis player.

Earlier this year an terview wh UbiTennis, he relled hearg var homophobic jok on the Tour durg his time as a player.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

“The reason we don’t have openly gay players on the ATP Tour, I’m not sure of the reason, but I feel me, as a player, would be very open, very wele. The lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, and other non-cisgenr or non-heterosexual (LGBTQ+) muny is prent wh sports worldwi. Many well-known players are openly gay and lbian and have bee champns proudly, makg themselv known to the world.

"IF THERE'S A GAY PLAYER THE LOCKER ROOM, NOTHG HAPPENS" - DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN, THE LATT STAR TO SUPPORT THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT

Mart Navratilova me out as homosexual 1981, makg her one of the few tennis players to do so (Source: Getty Imag). The sportg world hasn't been ignorant of the discsn, and many athlet the recent past have found themselv fortable enough to e out as gay or lbian. Unlike several other sports, where homosexual athlet have received ser backlash and threats, tennis has been largely open and non-homophobic.

Raymond has been quoted as sayg: "I me out bee I knew that there would be life after tennis, and beg gay and playg tennis is not a big al. While several female tennis players have e out of the closet, there is no player the ATP Top 100 sgl recent years who has nfirmed he is gay (the last one beg Amerin Brian Vahaly, who peaked at No 64 sgl 2003 but me out only after he retired om the sport). And that’s the fact that there has never been the prence of an openly gay male tennis player on the profsnal tour.

We have vered other openly gay tennis players the past but have not seen them on the profsnal circu (EXCLUSIVE: Lendale Johnson on Beg The First Openly Gay Tennis Player & More). Gay players existed at other levels and then there were those that would e out after they retired, but to have an active top-tier player your sport e out as gay, shows that there is forward progrsn of the sport as a whole workg to accept LGBTQ players. While the world is seeg male athlet other sports pete as openly gay athlet at the top levels, as jt mentned, vered weekly on our televisns and on the ont page of the sports pag, tennis seems to turn a bld eye when to havg healthy nversatns surroundg the LGBTQIA muny, visibily, and top-tier petn.

FRZ SAYS OPENLY GAY PLAYER WOULD BE ACCEPTED ON ATP TOUR

Unlike the women’s tour (WTA), where there are tennis giants like the legendary Billie Jean Kg and Marta Navratilova who are openly gay, the men’s tour seems as if they aren’t acceptg of any male player who isn’t an alpha male warrr who gnts aggrsively and beats his cht whenever they h a wner. Most recently Italian tennis star Fab Fogni yelled a homophobic slur out of “tratn” at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Brian Vahaly (an Amerin retired profsnal tennis player) me out as gay 2017, 10 years after officially retirg om the sport.

64, who peted profsnally for 6 years, said that gay players may feel disuraged om beg open about their sexualy bee of “sponsors, fans, fay and iendships. Vahaly told the Thomson Rters Foundatn that “ was impossible to go a week” whout hearg homophobic slurs when he played on the ATP tour. “When I was petg the mid-2000s, I would not scribe tennis as a very welg environment for gay players, ” he said, addg he was hopeful that more gay, male players at the ele level would e out as acceptance grows sport.

ATHLETE’S GOAL IS TO REACH THE TOP AS AN OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL TENNIS PLAYER

Sce then, seems the WTA tour has advanced wh the tim and adjted the mdset and culture of women’s tennis regards to the gay muny. As a gay male who is a major tennis fan, I hope that men’s profsnal tennis ntu to uphold the prtige and tradns of tennis… but work to make clive of all sexuali.

There are no openly gay or bisexual male players petg for the Grand Slam tle, highlightg a arth of LGBTQ+ players top-level men’s tennis that ntrasts wh their growg visibily other major sports. Brian Vahaly, an Amerin former profsnal tennis player who me out as gay 2017, 10 years after retirg, is one of few male players to have done so.

THE GAY TENNIS PLAYERS SMASHG DOWN BARRIERS AS WIMBLEDON 2023 GETS UNRWAY

64 said gay players may be disuraged om beg open about their sexualy due to the possible impact on “sponsors, fans, fay and iendships”. He told the Thomson Rters Foundatn “ was impossible to go a week” whout hearg homophobic language when he played the ATP Tour.

-based group whose webse says works "to challenge homophobia, biphobia and transphobia sport and improve accs to sport for LGBT+ people. ""I don't thk anyone's nyg that homophobia is a problem tennis, jt like is any sport, " Denison is rare for male athlet on U. "I don't know how many straight guys wake up, " he said, "and, while they're bshg their teeth, thk: ‘I wonr if gay people are all right tennis?

'"The ATP qutnnaire clus lks to rearch om the Internatnal Olympic Commtee and the Amerin Medil Society for Sports Medice that, the survey says, "found everyone's mental health and sport performance n be negatively impacted if a sport culture is not welg to gay and bisexual people. Please be topics clud what factors ntribute the most to there beg no openly gay active profsnal male tennis players, whether the rponnt agre wh the ATP's sire "to bat homophobia sport" and whether he "would publicly support a gay or bisexual tennis player. ”“I don't thk anyone’s nyg that homophobia is a problem tennis, jt like is any sport, ” Denison is rare for male athlet on U.

GAY DARTMOUTH TENNIS PLAYER WANTS MORE MEN’S PLAYERS TO E OUT TO CREASE VISIBILY

’”The ATP qutnnaire clus lks to rearch om the Internatnal Olympic Commtee and the Amerin Medil Society for Sports Medice that, the survey says, “found everyone’s mental health and sport performance n be negatively impacted if a sport culture is not welg to gay and bisexual people. Please be topics clud what factors ntribute the most to there beg no openly gay active profsnal male tennis players, whether the rponnt agre wh the ATP’s sire “to bat homophobia sport” and whether he “would publicly support a gay or bisexual tennis player.

TENNIS' LAST TABOO: WHY NO OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYERS?

Per Outsports, as of September 2022, there have only ever been 16 players NFL history to publicly e out as gay or bisexual. Per Outsports, Maxen is the “first publicly out male ach a major Amerin men’s pro sports league, ” wh WNBA ach Curt Miller, who publicly me out to the media as gay 2015, also a publicly out male ach an Amerin profsnal sports league. Butone aspect of diversy that is yet to be seen the tennis world is an active player on the ATP tour g out as gay.

QUERREY: ‘THERE’S GOT TO BE SOMEONE WHO PLAYS TENNIS WHO IS GAY’

After Billie Jean Kg and Marta Navratilova, several top female players have intified themselv as gay over the years. Schwartzman went on to extend the nversatn to sexual orientatn, and asserted that a fellow petor g out as gay would be a plete non-issue for him. "There are also sports which they beg to wonr if there are gay players or not, and the tth is that is not unrstood, " the Argente said.

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

20-time Grand Slam wner Roger Ferer, wily regard as one of the greatt players of all time, had claimed back 2013 that a player g out as gay wouldn't be a big al for him personally. One player who has spoken about his first-hand experience of beg gay and petg on the ATP tour is former World No.