Creative and cute video telling the “story” of Ivan Cruz and his best friend “Thor,” who helps Ivan deal with coming out.
Ivan tells Buzzfeed, “What I loved about using Thor in this video is the fact that our pets, whether it be a cat, a dog, a turtle, etc, they never judge us and to them we are just their friend and they love us unconditionally. I love that message.”
From Ivan on his Youtube page:
“I never imagined the day I’d come out. For a long time, I lived in the same fear that many others currently live in.
“With the help of my best-four-legged-friend, Thor, I decided to make this video and share my coming out story.
“A big thanks to all the brave people on here who have taken the time to share their own coming out stories and that have inspired me to do the same.
College football player Conner Mertens, of the Willamette University football team, last night came out to the world in a letter he posted to his Twitter account.
The letter was directed to his small hometown of Kennewick, Washington.
“You are not alone. You do not need to come out but you do need to know that you do not have to go at this by yourself. The aloneness you’re feeling is temporary and it will get better. This place is changing…changing for the better. I made the decision that if I could prevent one person from feeling that self-hatred, loneliness, desperation and a thousand other emotions that I felt, I would. I will be damned if I let anyone tell you that you are wrong or weird or not normal.
“Love yourself and allow others to love you. Be who you are and know you’re not alone.”
Before the tweet, Conner shared the letter with his team in a meeting last night.
The letter was printed and placed on desks facing down. At the same time, the players all turned the page and read in silence.
One by one the players shared what was on their minds. At one point, one of the bigger guys on the team had something to say. This was one of the players of whose reaction Mertens was most afraid. He has a reputation of seeking out fights, eager for fisticuffs, Mertens said. He laid it all on the line in front of the team.
“If anyone has a problem with Conner,” he said, “I’ll kick your ass.”
Every one of the team members who spoke shared the same sentiment. Mertens is a member of the team, he has a bright future on the gridiron, and it just doesn’t matter if he has a boyfriend or a girlfriend.
“It’s been insanely incredible,” Mertens said a couple hours after the meeting last night. Text messages and phone calls poured in from the team, all offering their love and support. “I’m speechless. That is the only word I can use to describe this. Even a lot of the guys on the football team I was most scared of are the ones who have been the most amazing.”
One team mate asked Mertens to meet him on campus. When he arrived, the player gave Mertens a big hug.
You can see Conner’s tweet, letter and the responses below.
And you can read Cyd Zeigler’s excellent article chronicling Conner’s journey to today at OutSports. I really urge you to head over and read the entire piece. It will give you a lift in terms of how great the next generation will be.
Congratulations Conner on a heartfelt and honest coming out, and for having great taste in friends and team mates.
I don’t ask for a lot of favors-but I’m cashing one in right now. Please take a minute to read this for me. pic.twitter.com/571c5v9NeO — Merts (@ConnerMertens) January 28, 2014
On an appearance of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” WWE superstar John Cena addressed wrestler Darren Young’s coming out and the idea of other gay wrestlers coming out:
“My thing is this, if you’re good at your job, I don’t judge,” Cena — who has also been vocal about his support for his gay brother — told show host Andy Cohen. “Darren is really good at his job, he’s a wonderful performer, he’s a great entertainer and it’s a very, very bold move that he made to come out. So he certainly is very a brave individual for doing that.”
Cena added, “I think it’s great [Darren Young came out]. I’m glad that he finally got enough support from the people around him, or courage to make the decision that he did, so now at least he doesn’t have to live with the stress. He can be himself and nobody judges him around here.”
Brazilian Diver Ian Matos came out of the closet as a gay man in a recent interview with the Portuguese-language newspaper Correio.
“From a young age, I knew I was gay, but it was here that I got to live my sexuality,” said Matos, who is now living in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, according to a translation of his interview on OutSports.
The 24-year-old athlete said friends advised him to remain in the closet until after the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero.
But Matos said he felt the increasing pressure of having to keep his sexuality a secret — hiding boyfriends and avoiding gay parties. He also acknowledged that he was inspired to be open about his identity after British Olympic diver Tom Daley announced in December he was dating a man, who was later revealed to be Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.
Born in Bethlehem, Pa., Matos moved to Rio de Janiero to pursue his diving career and became the Brazilian 3-meter champion in 2013. He also won a bronze medal in the event in 2012 in the US.
Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger has revealed he is gay.
The 31-year-old, who won 52 caps for Germany and also played for West Ham and Everton, made the announcement in newspaper Die Zeit.
He is the most prominent footballer to publicly reveal his homosexuality and said it was “a good time” to do so. “I’m coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards,” he added.
The midfielder said he has only realised “in the past few years” that he would “prefer to live together with another man”, adding: “I’ve never been ashamed of the way I am.”
“In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room… I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.
“Being gay is topic that is ‘ignored’ in football and not ‘a serious topic in the changing room’. Fighting spirit, passion and winning mentality are intrinsically linked, that doesn’t fit the cliché: ‘Gays are soft’.”
Support throughout the sports world has been strong:
Congratulations to Thomas Hitzlsperger on bravely being the first player to have played in the PL to ‘come out’ http://t.co/9boXWNpnFZ — Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 8, 2014
Brave and right decision. Respect, Thomas Hitzlsperger. His outing is a important sign in our time. pic.twitter.com/c69Oml2Ocp — Lukas-Podolski.com (@Podolski10) January 8, 2014
Thomas Hitzlsperger has shown a lot of courage today. Sad times when people have to wait till they retire from their chosen profession… — Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) January 8, 2014
Congratulations to Thomas Hitzelsperger – welcome to the club! — John Amaechi OBE (@JohnAmaechi) January 8, 2014
This morning, Robin Roberts spoke about coming out over the holidays and her girl friend Amber, telling her GMA co-hosts:
“I have never been happier or healthier than I am right now and my year-end post was just full of gratitude and just telling everyone all that I’m grateful for, including my girlfriend Amber who really loved me through a difficult year.”
Robin Roberts on her return to Good Morning America this past January
GMA’s Robin Roberts came out today in a post on her Facebook page expressing her gratitude for the support she experienced this year during her health crisis:
Flashback 12/29/12….Hard to believe this was 1 year ago today..when I reached a critical milestone of 100 days post transplant…and KJ was finally allowed to come back home.
Reading this comforts me and I hope the same for you: “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”
At this moment I am at peace and filled with joy and gratitude.
I am grateful to God, my doctors and nurses for my restored good health.
I am grateful for my sister, Sally-Ann, for being my donor and giving me the gift of life.
I am grateful for my entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together.
I am grateful for the many prayers and well wishes for my recovery. I return every one of them to you 100 fold.
On this last Sunday of 2013 I encourage you to reflect on what you are grateful for too.
Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year.
Peace, love, and blessings to all..XO
The 53 year old anchor has reportedly been with her girlfriend, Amber Laign is a licensed massage therapist from the San Francisco Bay Area, for ten years.
ABC News issued this statement of support: “We love Robin and Amber, who we adore and have all known for a long time. We were so touched by Robin’s Facebook message today and so thankful for all the loving support she has in her life.”
Roberts joins Jodie Foster, Wentworth Miller, Maria Bello, Jason Collins, and Tom Daley — among others — in the “celebrity ‘coming out’ class of 2013.
Roberts took a leave from GMA last year after being diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, which can be caused by chemotherapy.
After sharing her diagnosis on the air, the National Marrow Donor Program reported an 1800% increase in donors. Roberts returned to GMA in January of this year (see the above pic from her first day back).
On a personal note, my husband Michael has booked many guests on GMA and he is always quick to mention to people how warm and professional Robin is to work with.
Olympic Diver Tom Daley chats with Jonathan Ross on coming out and “love at first sight” with his new boyfriend.
He says making and releasing his “coming out” video was “a terrifying decision to make… I just wanted to say something in my own words from my heart.”
Daley also added that he himself was surprised he fell for a man: “It happened so quickly. I thought I’d really liked someone before but I’d never felt the feeling of love and it happened and I was completely overwhelmed by it to the point where I can’t get him out of my head all the time… I thought that I’d felt feelings like it before but this surpasses it.”
UK Olympic diver Tom Daley made a splash when he recently came out and shared the news he was dating a man.
The question for many was – “who is the lucky guy?”
According to E! News “the lucky guy” 19 year old Daley has been dating is Dustin Lance Black, the 39-year-old writer who won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Milk, the 2008 biopic about gay rights activist legend Harvey Milk.
