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

Contents:

• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE
• ATHLET WHO ARE GAY
• JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH IS FIRST MALE ACH A MAJOR US-BASED PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY
• NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS

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

-- 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.

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.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

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. 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.

WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE

While recent data om the US shows that the acceptance of homosexualy society often remas divid by untry, regn and enomic velopment, overall there has been creasg acceptance most untri.

ATHLET WHO ARE GAY

Rearch the UK, for example, nsistently shows high levels of acceptance of homosexualy - wh only 16% of those surveyed 2018 believg same-sex relatnships were eher “always” or “mostly” wrong. [The McDonald’s] spot foc on buildg safe plac for the LGBTQ+ muny and featur team members om the Varsy Gay League, the origal Queer+ recreatnal sports league that reprents over 40, 000 LGBTQ+ athlet across the U.

JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH IS FIRST MALE ACH A MAJOR US-BASED PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

As part of our celebratn of Pri Month, the Rams will be spotlightg four LA non-profs/small bs supportg the LGBTQ+ muny, aimg to raise awarens of those anizatns' seri kicks off wh the Varsy Gay League, the natn's origal Queer+ recreatnal sports leagu. "LGBTQ reprentatn matters, and we see that even when to chicken sandwich, " Andrew Miller, Director of Operatns of Varsy Gay League. Rather, I worked to program the entire night around celebratg LGBTQ+ Pri, om pregame kickball the outfield by the Varsy Gay League, to the ribbon boards and sreboards proudly proclaimg LGBT Pri Night around the stadium.

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

Cy Councilmember Pl Koretz and the Los Angel Dodgers raised $16, 000 on Gay Pri weekend to be ed to improve secury at Posettia money, which exceed VGL’s ial goal of $10, 000 was donated to the Los Angel Parks Foundatn c/o Posettia Parks Friends. For our annual celebratn of sports, the Los Angel Bla reached out to LA’s very own Varsy Gay League and asked players and team lears to nomate their choic for the most outstandg athlet among their ranks. One of the easit ways I ma iends was by jog Varsy Gay League, an LGBTQ-clive weekend kickball league… I wouldn't have believed you if you told me that four months would be enough time to fd iends I adore, a roommate I'm obssed wh, someone to fall love wh, someone to break my heart, and oodl of cliché Cali drama to get swept up — but I'd have been wrong.

Hackner found Varsy Gay League 2007 and has sce grown to an anizatn reachg the LGBT muny 13 ci across eight stat wh over 15, 000 members.

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. "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.

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

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

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. 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.

NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS

"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. " 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.

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. For a variety of reasons, n be extremely hard for profsnal athlet to e out as LGBTQ+ their personal one, sports are largely domated by straight cis men who have been notorly homophobic and transphobic acrdg to numero stori om LGBTQ+ athlet.