Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen out as gay a first for US-based pro leagu

Contents:

• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• EACH OF AMERI’S BIG 5 SPORTS CURRENTLY HAS AN OUT GAY MAN THE PROS. THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED
• ATHLET WHO ARE GAY
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• 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
• CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: THE ONLY MLB TEAM WH PLAYERS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• ACTUALLY, JASON COLLS ISN'T THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN A MAJOR PRO SPORT

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

When Nashville Predators prospect Le Prokop me out this week, was the first time an active player unr ntract to an NHL team had ever publicly acknowledged they were gay. Overnight, Prokop's announcement doubled the number of out gay athlet currently playg the untry's four major men's sports — football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Though many retired former players have e out, is more unual for male profsnal athlet to say they are gay while still playg.

Gay male athlet face cultural barriers Part of the reason for the lack of out gay players men's profsnal sports uld be that there are jt fewer of them the game. Rory Magrath, a rearcher at Solent Universy England, has suggted that 's possible gay men are unrreprented profsnal sports.

"Gay men are a fe rource, so they n't exist great numbers every quarter, " Magrath told "Gay men are overreprented some areas, and as a nsequence are gog to be unrreprented sports. That uld be due to the mascule culture at the center of the major sports, experts say, creatg an environment that is ls welg to gay athlet.

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

Magrath helped thor a study that found that male athlet who me out as gay while still playg sports were largely met wh acceptance by their teammat.

Robbie Rogers ma history 2013 when he took the field for the Los Angel Galaxy after as the first openly gay player profsnal U.

EACH OF AMERI’S BIG 5 SPORTS CURRENTLY HAS AN OUT GAY MAN THE PROS. THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED

NBA player Jason Colls, who me out 2013 while he was still playg the league, later told NPR " went great" when he scribed the perd after announcg he was gay. After Michael Sam beme the first openly gay athlete to be drafted to the NFL 2014, then-Miami Dolphs safety Don Jon tweeted "horrible, " rultg penalti and a spensn. David Kopay, a former NFL nng back who me out 1975, was unable to land a profsnal achg job after he announced publicly that he was gay.

There are key differenc the cultur of men's and women's athletics While few active players the major men's sports leagu have e out, many female profsnal athlet have said publicly that they're gay, om U. 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.

ATHLET WHO ARE GAY

Prokop lled the ont office of the Nashville Predators to let them know he’s gay, then wh their support he me out to the world. His announcement provoked mixed reactns om his fellow players and the you surprised that so many profsnal athlet are gay? She has been a relatnship wh Atralian soccer player Sarah Walsh for three 38Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: Reddg, CaliforniaTeams: Chigo Red StarsTennis great Billie Jean Kg beme the first proment female profsnal athlete to e out as gay back 79Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: Long Beach, California, Uned Stat of AmeriOlympic diver Greg Louganis is openly gay.

He married his partner Johnny Chaillo 63Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: El Cajon, California, Uned Stat of AmeriWNBA player Sheryl Swoop announced that she was gay 2005. Age: 52Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: Brownfield, Texas, Uned Stat of AmeriTeams: Hoton Comets, Uned Stat women's natnal basketball team, Texas Tech Lady Rairs basketballNBA player Jason Colls me out as gay an terview wh Sports Illtrated magaze 2013.

His announcement provoked mixed reactns om his fellow players and the 44Natnaly: Uned Stat of AmeriBirthplace: Northridge, Los Angel, CaliforniaTeams: Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Washgton Wizards, Memphis Grizzli, Brooklyn NetsAmerin soccer player Abby Wambach is openly gay. In June 2021, NFL fensive end Carl Nassib me out as gay a vio posted to his Instagram, addg he donated $100, 000 to The Trevor Project, an anizatn that foc on suici preventn LGBTQ youth after he stggled wh his sexualy for 15 years.

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

"Sce Febary and my big announcement, this has been a whole [lot of] speculatn of the first openly gay football player, but you know what? The athlete quickly ma a name for herself a seri of TV terviews, where she voiced her support of women's rights and LGBTQ rights as an openly gay woman.

"I thk female athlet, general, are at the foreont of every prott general bee we're gay, we're women, we're women of lor, we're sort of everythg all at one time, " Rapoe told NBC news 2019. The thgs you hear as a child—every time you hear someone say 'f----t' or talk bad about a gay guy, or see somethg on TV and make fun of that.

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

" He scribed hidg his sexualy while playg for the Utah Jazz, but said some teammat who spected he was gay were welg about a 2007 terview on "Outsi the L, " Amaechi, who played five seasons the NBA, said he thought there were other gay players the league, but said 's "terrifyg" for some to e out. '"But a few months later, he joed the Los Angel Galaxy team and beme the first openly gay man to play a major US profsnal league. I showed jt bee I'm gay don't make me any different or ls of a person, " Denson told the Milwkee Journal Sentel 2017.

Greg Louganis won four gold medals and one silver medal at three Olympic Gam om 1976 to 1988 as a diver, but wasn't until 1994 that he me out as gay. ""If I n show that I'm out and I'm fe, then hopefully the younger generatn will feel the same way, " Grer said the same year, Grer recieved a multi-ln dollar al om Nike, and beme the first openly gay basketball player endorsed by the brand, acrdg to The married her wife, Cherelle, 2019.

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

-- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn. Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. Atralian A-League soccer star Josh Cavallo me out as gay an October vio posted to his social media, beg hailed as the first current male top-flight profsnal soccer player to publicly do so.

CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: THE ONLY MLB TEAM WH PLAYERS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY

"He ntued: "Growg up I always felt the need to hi myself, you know, bee I was ashamed, and ashamed I'll never be able to do what I love and be gay. In a September terview wh USA Today, 25-year-old mor league baseball player beme the only active baseball profsnal to be out as gay! The 28-year-old Natnal Football League player and Rairs fensive leman ma history when he me out as gay on Instagram durg Pri Month, beg the first veteran NFL player to e out as gay while signed to a regular-season ntract.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know. Corey Walsh, the 27-year-old pro BMX rir and Vans spokperson, said he isn't normally the type of person to "let people " on his personal life, but felt was important to e out as gay a March Instagram post bee "there are a lot of people still stgglg wh the same suatns" and he "jt wanted to let people know that they are not alone. Champn long track speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy never hid beg gay om his fay, iends, and fellow athlet, but he also wasn't one to rate his locker wh rabow Pri flags eher.

He ially feared negative stereotyp about gay male athlet but threw those ncerns asi after his two-tle performance at the U. Robbie Rogers, Tom Daley, Michael Sam, Gareth Thomas -- the athlet are pavg new ground the world of sports as openly gay, out-and-proud players. At both the llegiate and profsnal level, sports have historilly been the last ontier for LGBT acceptance, and homophobia still ns rampant locker rooms and on playg fields across the Uned Stat and Europe.

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

Gay athlet and anti-bullyg activists like Ben Cohen, former pro English gby player, are fightg to change the game and create more clive spac for LGBT players everywhere.