Jason Colls, first openly gay athlete to play NBA, mak U.S. sports history

the first openly gay athlete

Figure skaters Adam Rippon and Eric Radford each ma history as openly gay men who won medals at the 2018 Wter Olympics, the latt ton for Team LGBTQ.

Contents:

GAY ATHLET ARE MAKG HISTORY AT THE 2018 WTER OLYMPICS

* the first openly gay athlete *

But openly gay and lbian athlet are another matter, pecially the Wter Olympics, which mak a uple of recent ton all the more noteworthy.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS

Jacksonville Jaguars ach Kev Maxen, who joed the team last year, me out publicly as gay an terview wh Outsports published on Thursday, beg the first ach a U.S. men’s profsnal league to do so" emprop="scriptn * the first openly gay athlete *

First, Team USA’s Adam Rippon ma history by beg the first out gay man om the US to medal a Wter Olympics by takg home the bronze for his ee skate performance. Then, Canadian Eric Radford beme the first openly gay Wter Olympics champn after wng the gold wh partner Meagan Duhamel the pairs ee skate performance. Rippon is one of two openly gay Amerin athlet to reprent team USA for the first time the Wter Olympics, along wh etyle skig’s G Kenworthy.

The number of openly gay athlet is still relatively small, and those who e out tend to do so after their first major petns – for a variety of reasons.

Brian Boano, the 1988 Olympic figure skatg gold medalist, announced he was gay 2013, after Print Obama named him to the official US legatn to the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY

A Connecticut native has bee the first openly gay NFL ach. * the first openly gay athlete *

The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars strength ach, Kev Maxen, has e out as gay — makg him the first male ach a U.

While Maxen is believed to be the first male ach to have e out publicly as gay, there have been a few female ach U. When to players, there have only been 16 the history of the NFL to e out as gay or bisexual as of September 2022, per Outsports. On Febary 23, 2014, Brooklyn Nets center Jason Colls be the first openly gay athlete to play a game the Uned Stat’ four major profsnal leagu.

The 35-year-old journeyman plays 10 srels mut, rerdg two rebounds and five fouls the Nets’ 108-102 victory over the Los Angel May 2013, Colls revealed he is gay a first-person say  Sports Illtrated. In 2021, Las Vegas Rairs fensive leman Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to announce he is gay. The number doubl the 40 openly gay, lbian and bisexual women who peted of the women are om North and South Ameri, Europe, Atralia and New Zealand, Outsports reported.

CT NATIVE BREAKS BARRIER AS FIRST OPENLY-GAY NFL ACH

Major-league baseball player Glenn Burke was fortably out to his teammat and iends 1976—but back then, was the prs that wasn't ready for a gay male athlete. * the first openly gay athlete *

Meanwhile, the 2022 Men’s World Cup was set to be hosted Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal and punishable by up to three years prison. The associatn’s cisn prompted some fans and athlet — cludg the first openly gay major league soccer player — to speak out. “If actns speak lour than words, then the msage FIFA sends to gay athlet is pafully clear.

Not only don’t they have our backs, our liv don’t matter, ” Robbie Rogers, one of the first openly gay major league soccer players, said a 2015 opn article for USA Today after FIFA announced the untri that would host the upg tournaments. Maxen origally ntacted gay NFL player Carl Nassib Febary 2022, who then nnected Maxen wh Outsports. SOUTHBURY, CT (WFSB) – A Connecticut native has bee the first openly gay NFL Maxen, a ach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, said he didn’t want to feel like he had to lie Maxen, associate strength ach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has publicly e out as gay.

Have you heard about the gay man who was dropped om his Olympic team bee he was too butch? In Amsterdam 1928 Otto Peltzer of Germany had ma his Olympic but and is the first gay Olympian.

FIRST GAY OLYMPIAN HISTORY PETED 1928

NBA center Jason Colls on Monday announced that he's gay a story for Sports Illtrated, beg the first active player one of the four major Amerin profsnal team sports to announce that he is gay. * the first openly gay athlete *

Peltzer was arrted for his homosexualy 1934 and later imprisoned, makg impossible for him to tra for the Berl Olympics. His ath 1989 mak him the send LGBT Olympian to die of AIDS-related , the first was Tom Wadll, founr of the Gay Gam, 1987. He was outed by a newspaper and although Curry didn't ny he was gay he didn't nfirm eher.

ACTUALLY, JASON COLLS ISN'T THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN A MAJOR PRO SPORT

Eric Bach is an openly gay broadster for the Frericksburg Natnals. He has major league aspiratns, but his path has been much lonelier than he would prefer. * the first openly gay athlete *

In the 1980s and 1990s the fear of the homophobic backlash that followed the emergence of HIV effected many LGBT athlet. This homophobia is still felt many sports, which is one reason why fewer male athlet have e out than female. Major-league baseball player Glenn Burke was fortably out to his teammat and iends 1976—but back then, was the prs that wasn't ready for a gay male / LMA few months back, the Baltimore Ravens' Brendon Ayanbajo, an outspoken advote for LGBT rights, told USA Today that he thought the first player the three major sports to out himself would be a baseball player: "The relig roots are a lot eper basketball and football.

This week's g out by NBA player Jason Colls is momento, but the Jackie Robson of gay rights was Glenn Burke, who played for the Los Angel Dodgers and Oakland A's om 1976 to 1979. Even his superb tobgraphy, Out at Home, which published the year he died, failed to stir open nversatn about homosexualy sports. Practilly no one the sports-wrg muny would acknowledge that Burke was gay or report stori that followed up on his told People magaze while promotg his book 1995, "My missn as a gay ballplayer was the breakg of a stereotype...

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

"And yet Burke is remembered ls today as a pneer for gay rights and more as the man who, along wh Dty Baker, vented the "high five. " The media general and the sports media particular found Burke's homosexualy an nvenient tth.

Whout immediate and open statements om league officials, gay athlet will fear cheap shots om opponents, beg shunned by teammat, and beg trad or even cut by their teams. In 1976, Wadll and his partner Charl Deaton are the first gay men to be featured the "Coupl" sectn of People magaze.

Five years later, Wadll forms San Francis Arts and Athletics to plan the first "Gay Olympic Gam. Kg is currently preparg to lnch her own Billie Jean Foundatn that will support gay and lbian youths. In 1989, he reveals his homosexualy to the bodybuildg muny durg an terview wh Ironman magaze.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS HAVE THE FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL COACH

Gallagher says that before his suici attempt, he had bee unable to rencile his image of himself as an athlete wh gay urg. Smh never acknowledged that he was gay, but David Kopay's tobgraphy, Smh was scribed as his first love. Bce Hay, an Olympic swimmer who won a gold medal 1984 as a member of the 800-meter etyle relay, out publicly at the Gay Gam and ws seven gold medals petn.

Roy Simmons, an offensive guard for the New York Giants and the Washgton Redsks om 1979-83, reveals he is gay durg an appearance on The Phil Donahue Show. Durg the same terview which he adms his homosexualy, Burke says he believ he was trad om the Dodgers bee management spected his was gay. Greg Louganis, four-time Olympic gold medalist divg who be HIV-posive, out public at the Gay Gam.

Rudy Galdo, the natnal men's skatg champn, discs beg a gay man the book Insi Edge: A Revealg Journey Into the Secret World of Figure Skatg. Prre claims that he was huiated wh gay-bashg remarks, harassed and threatened wh sexual asslt. Greg Louganis, a special Goodwill Gam edn of New York 1 News' nightly sports program, says that several athlet profsnal team sports have asked him for advice about gog public wh their homosexualy.

GIANT MURAL ON NORWICH PUB HONOURS JT FASHANU, ENGLAND'S FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER

Brian Orser, former world figure skatg champn and two-time Canadian Olympic silver medalist, is revealed November as gay an palimony su filed by an ex-boyiend.

In an affadav which he argued to keep the su's documents sealed, Orser says, "Other skaters, both Canadian and Amerin, guard their gayns closely bee of the likely impact of public disclosure on their reers.

WHY THE FIRST GAY OLYMPICS WAS A WATERSHED MOMENT SPORTS

She created a lane to be at peace while strivg for stardom as an openly gay woman who exprs herself eely on and off the 38, Rapoe is 20 years olr than teen prodigy Alyssa Thompson, an exaggerated example of the shift occurrg on the dynastic U. Jason Colls says he's news servicApr 29, 2013, 11:46 AM ETNBA center Jason Colls on Monday announced that he's gay a story for Sports Illtrated, beg the first active player one of the four major Amerin profsnal team sports to announce that he is gay. Last year, durg his re-electn mpaign, Print Barack Obama announced his support for gay after Colls disclosed his sexualy, Obama reached out by phone, exprsg his support and tellg Colls he was imprsed by his urage, the Whe Hoe Print Bill Clton, whose dghter Chelsea attend Stanford wh Colls, also appld Colls' announcement.

"Jason's announcement today is an important moment for profsnal sports and the history of the LGBT [lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr] muny, " he said a statement.

CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY N.F.L. PLAYER, HAS BEEN A FOOTBALL EVERYMAN

"He said the first relative he told he was gay was his nt Teri, who is a superr urt judge San Francis. He said she told him, "I've known you were gay for years, " which ma him "fortable my own sk.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE

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