Tag: out athletes

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Pro Soccer Player Collin Martin Comes Out As Gay

Minnesota United’s Collin Martin

Minnesota United FC midfielder Collin Martin came out this morning in a tweet on his personal Twitter account.

“Tonight my team, @mnufc , is having their Pride night. It’s an important night for me — I’ll be announcing that I am an openly gay player in Major League Soccer. #soccerforall,” wrote the 23-year-old just hours before Minnesota United hosts their Pride Night playing FC Dallas.

Attached to his tweet was a more detailed statement which read:

“I have been out as a gay man for many years to my family and friends, and this includes my teammates. I have played Major League Soccer for 6 seasons: 4 seasons with DC United and 2 seasons with Minnesota United. Today, I’m proud that my entire team and the management of Minnesota United know that I am gay. I have received only kindness and acceptance from everyone in Major League Soccer and that has made the decision to come out publicly that much easier.
“As we celebrate Pride night, I want to thank my teammates for their unconditional support for who I am. In light of my experience as a professional athlete, I want to take this moment to encourage others who play sports professionally or otherwise to have confidence that sport will welcome them wholeheartedly. June is Pride month, and I am proud to be playing for Pride, and to be playing as an out gay man.”

Pro soccer player Collin Martin of Minnesota United came out just hours before his team held its annual Pride Night match
Pro soccer player Collin Martin comes out as gay

Martin is now the second openly gay professional soccer player in MLS history following Robbie Rogers, who came out in 2013.

That same year, Jason Collins came out as the first openly gay professional basketball player. And in 2014, Michael Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams becoming the first openly gay football player to be drafted by an NFL team.

Rogers, Collins and Sam have retired from their sports, which means Martin is currently the only openly gay active player in any major pro sports league in the United States.

Don Garber, MLS commissioner, said in a statement, “We admire Collin’s courage, and are proud of him and of the support from the soccer community.”

Visibility is the key to acceptance, so here’s opening more pro athletes step up and come out.

Congratulations, Collin, on living your authentic life! #BeTrue.

His team followed up Collin’s announcement with a tweet of support with the hashtag #SoccerForAll:

And his old team tweeted their support as well:

And Robbie Rogers also tweeted his support:

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Out Athletes Cover 10th Annual ESPN Magazine’s ‘Body Issue’

ESPN Magazine’s 10th Annual ‘Body Issue’ is online today!

Begun in 2008, the issue highlights the physiques of 16 world-class athletes.

Alison Overholt, editor in chief of ESPN Magazine said in a statement,“The goal has always been for us to celebrate the athletic form—in every shape and size—and to allow people to stop and marvel at the works of art these bodies truly are.”

This year’s edition is more LGBTQ-inclusive than ever featuring Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon as well as lesbian soccer forward Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign) together with her girlfriend, 10-time WNBA All-Star point guard for the Seattle Storm, Sue Bird.

The couple’s print cover is the first time a queer couple has covered the Body Issue.

“It’s pretty amazing to think about [being on the cover of the Body Issue], especially in the times we’re in,” Rapinoe shared in her interview. “Just think of how far we’ve come, but also the current climate. Not only are we female athletes, but we’re dating as well. It’s kind of bad-ass.”

Coming off of this year’s Winter Olympics as well as a grueling tour for ‘Stars On Ice’ while competing (and winning) Dancing with the Stars, Rippon told ESPN Magazine, “I couldn’t have done this [shoot] while I was in the closet.”

“I think that, with my experience of coming out, I felt so liberated in so many ways,” the 28-year-old added.

Also included in the Body Issue are Saquon Barkley (running back for New York Giants), sprinter Tori Bowie, cross-country skier and Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins, National Women’s Soccer League MVP Crystal Dunn, Houston Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel, as well as totally fit seniors Jerry Rice of the NFL and pro-golfing legend, Greg Norman.

The print edition of the Body Issue hits news stands on June 29, but you can check out the online versions over at ESPN Magazine here.

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Dating Out Athletes Celebrate Final High School Dance Together

Hunter Sigmund (L) and Jake Bain (R) in their requisite senior prom pic

For the students dancing the night away at St. Louis’ John Burroughs High School senior prom, openly gay couple Jake Bain and Hunter Sigmund were nothing new to see. This was the twosome’s fourth school dance together.

Sigmund, a swimmer and water polo player told Outsports, “It was my fourth school dance with Jake and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend our last high school dance.”

As the school’s only openly gay couple, the students and faculty have treated the two athletes just like everyone else, says Bain.

More from Outsports:

“This is the second year he and I have gone together, as well as to our homecoming dance the past two years, so this wasn’t the first time,” Bain, the school’s high school football captain, said.

“We have been the only openly gay couple at Burroughs since I’ve been here, but it isn’t a problem at all at our school. People treat us the same. It is nice to be able to go to prom with whoever you want and not have to worry about what other people might think.”

When the hideously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church haters announced they would protest Jake for the national attention he garnered as an out star football player, the school, faculty and community rallied around him.

This fall will see Jake begin his college football career for Indiana State University while Hunter heads to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an honors student.

Could they be any cuter?
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At Least One Paralympian In PyeongChang Is Out & Proud

Canadian Paralympian Cindy Ouellet

I’ve been meaning to remind folks to watch the 2018 Paralympics which began yesterday in PyeongChang and last to March 18.

It’s not just the Olympics that offer up amazing physical achievement and inspirational stories. I’ve been watching the Paralympics for years and you should, too.

On the community level, Outsports is reporting that there is at least one out and proud Paralympian competing this year.

Cindy Ouellet didn’t know if she would qualify for these Olympic Games, pinning her hopes on cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Yet here she is, competing in three events in Pyeongchang: the women’s 1.1km, 5km and 12km sitting cross-country skiing events.

Ouellet competed in women’s wheelchair basketball in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Paralympics. Her Canadian team lost in the semifinals of the most recent Summer Paralympics in 2016.

She has a gold and a bronze medal in the World Championship of wheelchair basketball, but a Paralympic medal has eluded her.

According to the Winter Paralympics Web site, Ouellet was “diagnosed with bone cancer in her hip at age 12. She suffered nerve damage from the chemotherapy treatment she received.”

A Summer AND Winter Paralympian? Jeez, what a slacker…

In all seriousness, what a true inspiration Ouellet is. You can learn more about her athletic achievements here.

Wishing her the best in her quest for gold.

Regarding Team USA, we’re already off to a strong start as Lt. Cmdr. Dan Cnossen, the only double-amputee Navy SEAL in history, has won gold in the men’s sitting 7.5km.

The US won 18 medals in Sochi, so who knows how we’ll fare this year?

Here’s a schedule of events you can watch on NBC’s range of networks including NBC, NBCSN, and the Olympic Channel.

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Olympians Adam Rippon & Gus Kenworthy: Coming Out Made Us Better Athletes

U.S. Olympians Adam Rippon (L) and Gus Kenworthy (R)

In an interview with The Washington Post, freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy and figure skater Adam Rippon shared their thoughts on being the first two out male Winter Olympians and how it affected not only themselves but other athletes.

Both acknowledged that one byproduct of their openness about being gay was the encounters with closeted athletes and coaches who thanked them for the representation.

Kenworthy said two athletes and a coach approached him while Rippon spoke of a coach did the same.

The duo, who became friends thanks to their shared status as “America’s gay Olympians,” also noted the enormous fear and energy that being closeted took from each of their lives.

Said Rippon, “I think you spend so much time worrying about what other people think about, that you realize that you had all of this extra energy that you didn’t need to be using. And, you know, I think straight people never have this experience of coming out. And it’s such a life-changing moment that you become so strong. I gained so much power and strength from that moment.”

“And I agree with what he said about it being effortless,” Kenworthy added, “because when I was in the closet, it was so [pause] much [pause] effort to stay in the closet and constantly worrying, and fearing I was going to fall asleep before the other guys on my team and say something in my sleep, or anything. I was just, all the time, always nervous that I was going to out myself, that someone was going to find out, and it was this horrible, horrible thing. And now that I’m out, and I realize how great it is, and I’m just getting to enjoy my life, I feel like I just feel free and liberated and I’m competing better, interviews, anything, I just get to be myself, and it’s a strange thing to be thanked for that, but it’s also amazing.”

The two athletes also agreed that they felt the need to be at the top of their respective sports before they could come out in that being “the best” meant haters couldn’t throw shade.

“For myself,” Kenworthy said, “when I came out [in 2015], I felt like I needed to be the best, because that was what I thought it would take to be accepted. No one can talk s— on you if you’re the No. 1 ranked in the world, and so that’s what my whole thing was, and so I made sure that the season before I came out, I was the No. 1-ranked guy in the world, and that was how I wanted to come out. Because I felt like, ‘You can’t argue with that.’ But in the end, no one was trying to argue with it anyway.”

“I actually feel exactly the same,” Rippon said, “where I made sure that when I came out, I was skating very well, so that I would be taken seriously. And after I came out, I won my national title.”

Truly, Rippon and Kenworthy were taken very seriously in their sports.

And regarding the “gay Olympian” label? Rippon summed it all up thusly:

“I think, at the end of the day, that we’re just Olympians. And I think we’re ‘gay Olympians,’ and the next gay Olympians will just be called Olympians, and I think that’s what we really hope, that it won’t be a story.”

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Podcast: Celebrating The 2018 Out Winter Olympians

Out U.S. Olympians (L-R) Adam Rippon, Brittany Bowe and Gus Kenworthy

As the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang come to a close, join me as I celebrate the awesome accomplishments of the openly gay, lesbian and bisexual Olympians at these games.

Of a record 15 out LGBTQ athletes (including out men for the first time at a Winter Olympics), four athletes won a combined seven medals.

The number of out Olympians at these Games is more than double the seven from the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. In contrast, there were 56 out Olympians at the much larger Summer Olympics in 2016.

Listen as I recap the fantastic achievements of U.S. Olympians Adam Rippon, Gus Kenworthy and Brittany Bowe as well as Canada’s Eric Radford, the Netherlands’ Ireen Wust, Belgium’s Jorik Hendrickx, Belle Brockhoff and Barbara Jezeršek of Australia, Swiss snowboarder Simona Meiler and more.

Hit the play button below.

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Gus Kenworthy & Adam Rippon Reflect On Their Experiences As Out Olympians

Adam Rippon (L) and Gus Kenworthy (R)

As the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang are coming to a close, The Today Show sat down with American Olympians Adam Rippon and Gus Kenworthy to reflect on their journey through these Games as the first ever openly gay U.S. Winter Olympians.

Freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, who came out in 2015 after he won a silver medal in Sochi, admitted that he didn’t know if the support he’d enjoyed would continue as an out athlete.

“I was very much in the closet and very much ashamed of who I was, and I actually didn’t get to appreciate the medal that I won because of that,” he said. “I didn’t know if the gay skier would be an image anyone wanted to get behind or support.”

In reality, Gus has enjoyed more endorsements than just about any other U.S. Olympian.

Figure skater Adam Rippon, who earned a bronze medal at these Games, said it was important to him to show up and be exactly who he is.

“I came here being authentically myself and sharing my story, and being gay is part of that,” Rippon told NBC’s Craig Melvin. “But I came here as an American athlete and I came here to help my team get a medal in that team event, and that was what I focused on.”

Adam found himself at the center of a political firestorm before the Games began with a comment about Vice President Mike Pence’s history of anti-LGBT policies. He also turned down an opportunity to speak with the Vice President.

But Adam handled the issue with aplomb: “I didn’t take the phone call [with Pence] because I needed to focus on the competition.”

Rippon says he would “totally” be open to chatting with the veep after the closing ceremonies in PyeongChang.

If that video disappears, watch the full interview here.

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Out Olympic Speed Skater Brittany Bowe & US Speed Skating Women Win Bronze Medal In Team Event

Out U.S. Olympian Brittany Bowe, our top female speed skater at the PyeongChang Olympics, had had enough with the close calls.

Two fifth place finishes and one fourth place showing that was only 2 hundredths of a second from podium position was not going to be the end of Bowe’s Olympic journey.

But – Bowe and her teammates Heather Bergsma, Mia Manganello and Carlijn Schoutens from the United States showed up at their final race determined to beat Canada for the bronze medal

And that’s just what they did edging out the Canadians by 0.45 of a second.

The team had lost to the Netherlands in the semifinal earlier in the day.

The final standings for the event:

Japan – Gold medal
Netherlands – Silver medal
United States – Bronze medal

Congrats ladies!

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Gus Kenworthy Shows Off His Sexy “Bruised Peach”

Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy is one tough competitor

Gus Kenworthy post #2:

US freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy missed out on a second Olympic medal this time around in part due to injuries (a broken thumb and massive hematoma) that proved detrimental to his final runs in the Slopestyle competition this past weekend.

Gus shared a pic of the enormous bruise today giving you an idea of just how tough he is and yet still managed to throw down with the best of the best freestyle skiers in PyeongChang.

He even threw in a Call Me By Your Name reference along the way 🙂

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Out Olympic Speed Skater Brittany Bowe Notches 3rd Top Five Finish In PyeongChang

Out U.S. Olympic speed skater Brittany Bowe finished fifth in the women’s 500-meter with a time of 37.53 seconds – just two-tenths of a point off the podium.

Today’s results follow her 5th place finish in the 1500 meter race and a 4th place in the 1000 meter race.

“Other than being two-tenths off the podium, I’m really, really happy with that race,” speaking to NBC after the race. “I can’t think of anything I could have executed better, to be honest with you.”

“Obviously, I’m disappointed coming out medal-less so far,” she added. “We still have the team pursuit. I really want a medal for everybody that’s helped me along the way, my whole life and especially this past year and a half getting me back to that start line. It would mean the world to me.”

The women’s team event will take place over Monday and Wednesday this week.

But even if that doesn’t work out, Bowe says she’s not finished her Olympic journey yet as she plans on being at the 2022 games in four years.

“I definitely plan on going another four years,” she said. “I can’t be done here, that’s for sure.”