Jags' Maxen is first male Amerin pro sports ach to e out as gay - ESPN

Contents:

• IN A LLEGE FOOTBALL FIRST, HBCU PLAYER OUT AS GAY
• OUTSPORTS MALE ATHLET OF THE YEAR: 8 OUT GAY AND BI LLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS
• 8 OPENLY GAY AND BI LLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS PLAYED SEASON ON THEIR TERMS
• THERE ARE 7 OPENLY GAY OR BI LLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS THIS SEASON
• COLTON UNRWOOD, ‘BACHELOR’ STAR, COM OUT AS GAY
• TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY
• ARIZONA WILDTS' MY-KG JOHNSON TO MAKE NCAA HISTORY AS 1ST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALL SCHOLARSHIP PLAYER
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE NFL PLAYER, ULD BE TURNG POT FOR MALE SPORTS
• JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR MEN'S PRO SPORTS TO INTIFY AS GAY
• ISAIAHGAY
• JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY

IN A LLEGE FOOTBALL FIRST, HBCU PLAYER OUT AS GAY

A Hampton Universy football player me out publicly as gay, a first for a football player at a historilly Black llege or universy, acrdg to, an LGBTQ sports news se. Byron Perks, a Divisn I fensive back for the Hampton Universy Pirat, me out as gay an Instagram story shared Wednday.

OUTSPORTS MALE ATHLET OF THE YEAR: 8 OUT GAY AND BI LLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS

I’m gay, let be known that this is not a ‘cisn’ or a ‘choice.

’ Y, this is who I am, this is who I’ve been, and this is who I’m gog to be, ” Perks wrote the story, acrdg to (Instagram stori are only available for 24 hours, so Perks’ origal story is no longer viewable) several Divisn I football players have e out as gay durg their llege reers — cludg the College of Idaho’s Cy Hicks, Amherst College’s Avery Saffold and Kansas State’s Stt Frantz — Perks is the first to do so at one of the untry’s 101 HBCUs, acrdg to both Outsports and Perks.

Perks told Outsports that he’d like to help other gay Black men who are stgglg wh their sexualy. “There hasn’t been an out gay football athlete at an HBCU. “I’m sure the young man has heard his fair share of slurs om teammat unaware that he is gay.

8 OPENLY GAY AND BI LLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS PLAYED SEASON ON THEIR TERMS

Cyd Zeigler, the -founr of Outsports, noted that “so many ‘first’ gay athlet — John Amaechi, Jason Colls, Michael Sam — have been Black men. Four of the top six most-read Outsports stori of the were related to football and the sport ntu to drive nversatn whenever players e out as gay or bi.

This past season saw eight gay or bi players who me out openly, their prence showg that LGBTQ athlet have a place every sport. One ma history — Wyatt Pertet who 2018 beme the first openly gay player to sre a touchdown.

For their prence as out athlet a sport long thought hostile, Outsports has selected the eight gay and bi llege football players as our Male Athlet of the Year. Cy Hicks, College of Idaho (NAIA) offensive leman, sophomore.

THERE ARE 7 OPENLY GAY OR BI LLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS THIS SEASON

Christian Zevogel, Kalamazoo College (Michigan Divisn III) offensive leman, sophomore.

For six of the eight openly gay or bi llege football players, 2019 has marked the end of their llegiate reers, wh five graduatg and one cidg to stop playg football.

COLTON UNRWOOD, ‘BACHELOR’ STAR, COM OUT AS GAY

Of the eight teams that had an openly gay or bi player, four played on teams wh wng rerd and four on teams wh losg rerds. By beg openly gay while playg our most popular sport, the athlet upend what long had been a stereotype of the impossibily of out players thrivg football.

Here is how the eight gay or bi players and their teams fared this season:. Frantz, openly gay, is the team’s startg left tackle and will play his fal llegiate game the Wildts’ bowl game, which will be termed this weekend. Capal went 0-10, but Pertet end his reer wh a distctn 2018 of the beg the first openly gay player to sre a llege football touchdown.

Hicks, openly gay, redshirted after season-endg surgery for a torn labm. Saffold, openly gay, had 21 tackl and three terceptns for the 4-5 Mammoths.

TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY

Zevogel, who is gay, cid to end his football reer at season’s end, cg a ncsn he suffered Augt and the sire to pursue his amic terts. Johnson, openly gay, played six gam wh seven tackl for New Mexi Milary his first game actn two years after stg out his hman season at Arizona.

The eight were the only players who were publicly out about beg gay or bi and my hope for 2020 is that they are joed by others. When Kansas State offensive tackle and NFL hopeful Stt Frantz me out to the natn as gay last week, he shared that his teammat, to whom he'd e out earlier, had warmly received the news, a sign the most alpha of locker rooms may fally be ready for equaly. So, wh two gay players takg the field the top tier of llege football this season, has the future fally charged onto the turf?

ARIZONA WILDTS' MY-KG JOHNSON TO MAKE NCAA HISTORY AS 1ST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALL SCHOLARSHIP PLAYER

Here's a list of players llege and pro ball who have proved you n be gay or bi and still n the KopayRunng back Dave Kopay, who signed wh the San Francis 49ers 1964, would play for five teams before hangg up his jersey 1972. Coach Vce Lombardi had apparently nfid Smh that he knew of his sexualy but would never let impact him negatively; Lombardi's brother was also gay. Yet he nspicuoly has never been ducted to the NFL Hall of SimmonsRoy "Sugar Bear" Simmons, an offensive leman for the New York Giants and Washgton Redsks, beme the send NFL player ever to publicly reveal he was gay.

So Coach Vce Lombardi knew McDonald was gay when he took over learship of the team 1969, but ma clear there would be no discrimatn his locker room, those close to the legend say. He would e out to HBO Sports 2002, where he discsed lghg off gay jok and slurs for years while he played DavisCornerback Wa Davis, who played preason wh the Tennsee Tans, Seattle Seahawks and Washgton Redsks and spent two seasons wh NFL Europe teams Berl Thunr and Barcelona Dragons, me out as gay 2012, nearly a after his retirement.

He would later nfirm his sexualy on CNN and s down wh ESPN to discs the challeng of growg up gay Jamai and playg football while closeted. Michael SamThe world took notice 2014 when All-Amerin fensive end Michael Sam me out as gay to ESPN while still llege.

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

Louis Rams and beme the first openly gay player ever to get drafted by an NFL team. He did end up playg two years wh the Montreal Alouett, makg him the first openly gay player the history of the Canadian Football BryantA Purdue alum who gaed more yards than any other non-Heisman Trophy wner Big Ten history, Dorien Bryant failed to get drafted 2008. He later cled to sign wh the Tennsee Tans and Dallas Cowboys before g out as gay at 24, he told Philalphia Magaze 2013.

He would later move to San Francis and jo the Fog, a gay gby team, and pen a g-out blog post GallagherA Universy of Ptsburgh offensive leman om 1977 through 1979, Ed Gallagher reprsed his sexualy until 1985, when he had his first sexual enunter wh a man, then attempted to kill himself 12 days later. He died LuhenA kicker for the Nebraska Cornhkers who played om 2003 through 2005, Eric Luhen told Outsports he was open about beg gay and suffered relentls bullyg om a handful of teammat. While he said he never kept his sexualy a secret, a "nspiracy of silence" left the matter unspoken the GendreA kicker for four seasons wh the Middle Tennsee Blue Rairs, Alan Gendre, openly gay om age 16 on, would end his llege reer as the lead srer Sun Belt nference history.

He ma the cisn to announce he was gay, the first active Divisn III player to do so, after nnectg wh Conner Mertens through You Can Play, he SarafArizona State leman Chris Saraf 2014 me out as gay to lol LGBT publitn Compete, makg him the first Divisn I player out of the closet. The move quickly brought msag of support om the athletic partment and universy officials, and the wrer for Compete told The Arizona Republic that the school fact approached him about breakg the SimsBrian Sims 2000 was named -pta for the Bloomsberg Universy football team Pennsylvania, makg him the first openly gay llege football pta NCAA history, acrdg to Outsports. Sims, post-football, entered polics and 2012 beme the first openly gay polician ever elected to the Pennsylvania Hoe of DarrowAn offensive leman for Prceton, Mason Darrow me out 2015.

CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE NFL PLAYER, ULD BE TURNG POT FOR MALE SPORTS

He's now pursug a ont-office job profsnal JohnsonMy-Kg Johnson, a recent grad of Tempe High School Arizona, is set this fall to be the first openly gay scholarship player reced to play major-llege football, takg the field wh the Universy of Arizona. He said he wanted to enter his fal season of llege ball livg openly and hontly, and emailed the newspaper shortly after Kurdzlek, a iend and opponent on the field, me out PertetWyatt Pertet, a special teams player and receiver for Capal Universy, will be a sophomore this season.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR MEN'S PRO SPORTS TO INTIFY AS GAY

College football season starts full this weekend and seven openly gay or bi players will take the field var divisns.

ISAIAHGAY

Among those g back is Wyatt Pertet, a wi receiver who ma history last year by beg the first openly gay llege football player to sre a touchdown a game. If even jt 1% of all players intified as gay or bi, that would leave 810. Cy Hicks, a College of Idaho (NAIA) offensive leman who will be a sophomore.

JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY

Christian Zevogel, a Kalamazoo College (Michigan Divisn III) offensive leman who will be a sophomore. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe 29-year-old former football player had wrten about qutng his sexualy a memoir, published Shotwell/Invisn, via Richard Shotwell, via Invisn, via Associated PrsColton Unrwood, a star of “The Bachelor” and a former football player, me out as gay an terview wh Rob Roberts that aired Wednday on “Good Morng Ameri.

And I’m gay. “I would have rather died than say, ‘I’m gay.