Coll Mart is U.S. soccer's only openly gay male player, and he's workg to make the game more clive for future LGBTQ+ players - ESPN

Contents:

• LAPLANTE: “I’M SO OPENLY GAY BEE WE STILL HAVE SO FAR TO GO”
• TOP 10 GAY NFL PLAYERS WHO ARE TLY INSPIRATNAL
• THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY
• HOW MANY OPENLY GAY MLB PLAYERS HAVE BEEN THERE? HONORG LGBTQ INS OF BASEBALL ON PRI NIGHT
• CT NATIVE BREAKS BARRIER AS FIRST OPENLY-GAY NFL ACH
• PREDATORS' LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, BE NHL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS

LAPLANTE: “I’M SO OPENLY GAY BEE WE STILL HAVE SO FAR TO GO”

In fact I had a poker player a few days ago who was so exced to meet me and was almost tears, a fellow openly gay poker player. To have happen on the same night as a shootg massacre targetg the gay muny left him eply nflicted but also gave him the chance to amplify his voice and his msage.

“June is Gay Pri Month Ameri and last night at a gay dance club Orlando the largt shootg massacre US history occurred wh over 50 people losg their liv, ” Laplante said durg his speech. “I'm proud to be a World Seri of Poker champn and I'm proud to be an openly gay man. Laplante says that even though there has been progrs ma gay rights, you don't have to look far to see there's still a long way to go.

“Try to name an openly-gay pro football or basketball player who's currently playg, ” said Laplante. You n still get fired om your job , I want to say 34, stat for beg gay and you have no legal reurse.

TOP 10 GAY NFL PLAYERS WHO ARE TLY INSPIRATNAL

"The Texas Supreme Court jt led that pani don't have to give benefs to gay spo.

And now wh Donald Tmp the Whe Hoe, Laplante se even more reason to ntue fightg for gay and trans rights. “When you tell poker profsnals that you're gay they really don't re and some people tweeted me basilly sayg, 'We don't re what your sexual orientatn is so why are you even tellg ? "The reason I'm so openly gay is that we do still have so far to go.

Amazgly though, of the thoands of men who have stepped onto the field, only a small handful have ever e out as gay. gay NFL players haven’t felt fortable to e out while playg, and stead. still surroundg gay footballers.

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

Here’s a list of 10 openly gay. Dave Kopay was one of the first sports stars to e out as gay. He is now an ambassador for the Feratn of Gay Gam and ns his fay’s bs California.

He is an important figure though, as 2014, he was the first openly gay NFL player to be drafted. By marryg Ross, he beme the first openly gay NFL player to enter a same-sex marriage – somethg that has not been seen aga sce.

Kwame Harris knew he was gay om a young age but wasn’t supported by his fay. Sce g out, he has bee a board member at the Gay and Lbian Athletics Foundatn, pl he created an anizatn lled Hate Any Form is Wrong, which mpaigns agast homophobia. It was only after his ath that his fay nfirmed that he was gay.

HOW MANY OPENLY GAY MLB PLAYERS HAVE BEEN THERE? HONORG LGBTQ INS OF BASEBALL ON PRI NIGHT

After retirg, he moved to Texas, where he opened a gay bar. Dpe this bs venture, he never me out publicly as gay. McDonald was one of the first ever gay players the NFL.

He died 2014, and the year after was ducted to the Natnal Gay and Lbian Sports Hall of Fame. IAmA Openly Gay Profsnal Poker Player.

CT NATIVE BREAKS BARRIER AS FIRST OPENLY-GAY NFL ACH

I am openly gay among fay/iends/poker players. 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. As a former llegiate tennis player and gay man, this event stck a particularly sensive chord for me.

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.

PREDATORS' LE PROKOP OUT AS GAY, BE NHL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER

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. 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.

Statistilly speakg, there mt be a man the top 100, 200, 500 or even 1, 000 who is gay, right? 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.

As Rippon highlighted, g out and beg labeled as “that gay athlete” is not easy to al wh. As the world be more progrsive, so do the baseball muny wh clubs, fans, and teammat embracg openly gay MLB players.

COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS

As the MLB ntu embracg the LGBTQ muny, the players have also taken steps towards clivens wh Chigo Whe Sox pcher, Anrson Comás, g out as openly gay.

The 23-year-old pcher om the Domin Republic hop the revelatn of his sexualy enurag other gay players to e out. Although Anrson Comás is only the send openly gay MLB player to e out while actively wh an anizatn, the Chigo Whe Sox, he is far om the first openly gay player to play profsnal baseball.

"Anrson Comás beme the send known player to e out as gay while actively affiliated wh an MLB anizatn. Former Los Angel Dodgers outfielr Glenn Burke was the first MLB player to e out as gay, however, he did so followg his retirement.