Humphries came out while competing for Melbourne in Australia’s National Basketball League. He played for the Kentucky Wildcats in college and briefly for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA. The man who started it all, Collins came out publicly on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2013.
Jordan Clarkson’s list of ex-girlfriends apparently includes Kendall Jenner.
They’re are athletes today who still remain in the closet and won’t come out because of the scrutiny they could face. Athletes in team sports are further discouraged, because some teams view an athlete coming out as a media distraction. With roughly 10% of the population identifying as LGBT, there are many rumors floating around that many of these athletes fall in that spectrum, but have chosen to keep it hidden. Here are eight athletes rumored to go both ways, and seven who are rumored to be in the closet. He seems to care about people who have to deal with personal issues.
6. RUMORED TO BE IN THE CLOSET : BRAYLON EDWARDS
Magrath helped author a study that found that male athletes who came out as gay while still playing sports were largely met with acceptance by their teammates. But zero is the number of openly gay players in the NBA since Jason Collins retirement in 2013. Swiss professional basketball player Marco Lehmann decided to retire from living a double life before he retired from basketball, coming out publicly as gay. Tim Duncan an all time great for the San Antonio Spurs was drafted first overall in 1997.
His family reportedly had mixed emotions towards the announcement, but he still changed the game, becoming the first Division I men’s basketball player to come out as gay and play in games. He also received praise from Collins and former NFL defensive end Michael Sam, who became the first openly gay football player. After coming out in 2013, Michael Sam was one of the first publicly gay players in high-profile college football history. Louis Rams in 2014, making him the first out gay man drafted into the NFL, although he never played in a regular-season NFL game.
Ultimately we believe this list of our WNBA players provides needed visibility and that LGBTQIA+ visibility will in turn allow future WNBA players to be comfortable coming out. So after some extensive research, here is a list of current and former WNBA players that have either come out and/or living authentically as part of the LGBTQIA+ community sorted by last name. Cooky also pointed to the recent wave of bills introduced in state legislatures across the country aiming to bar transgender girls from participating in female sports. That could be due to the masculine culture at the center of these major sports, experts say, creating an environment that is less welcoming to gay athletes. Given the fact that some percentage of the population from 3.5% to 5.6% identify as gay , it seems insanely unlikely that there are no gay NBA players. He got signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers and actually started his first-ever NBA game due to an injury to the Cavs starting center.
She worked as a coach and general manager for the next four seasons with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. With this record, the team reached the NCAA tournaments in both seasons. Henceforth, she served as an assistant coach at USC from 1986 to 1991.
It’s fairly important for LGBT people to come out of the closet. They won’t be accepted by everybody, but they’ll at least get a heavy load off of their chest. The NBA and its fans may not agree with the personal statements the NBAers make about themselves, but you can’t evade the fact that there are LGBT athletes in every sport. Moreover, there are also straight allies who support the LGBT community, most likely because they have friends and/or family who identify as LGBT. Yet, more than a decade after Amaechi came out, there isn’t a single openly gay player remaining in the league. He privately speaks with some current NBA players who identify as LGBTQ, and he says their biggest concern isn’t the reaction of their teammates.
Durant also cited his sexual orientation has one of the reasons he joined the Golden State Warriors. While gay marriage is legal in Oklahoma, it is widely frowned upon. Look for another story celebrating LGBTQ sports history tomorrow and every day this month. Amaechi embraces his position as role model for kids with as much vigor as so many professional athletes try to distance themselves from it. Amaechi contacted Outsports’ Cyd Zeigler in December and Outsports introduced Amaechi to Bragman.
Gutierrez says his professional accomplishments allowed him to comfortably stay in the closet. He could put off thinking about his sexuality, because there was work to focus on. Brooke shocked the entire world when she revealed that she was bisexual. During an interview, she stated that her castmate in the show BBWLA, Draya, was bisexual and tried to have sex with her. In the meantime, she said that she did experiment with her friend previously, confirming that she was bisexual as well. In addition, she was also romantically affiliated with another NBA player named Vernon Macklin, but both these relationships didn’t last too long.
Cheryl started her professional broadcasting career for the NBA on TNT’s Thursday night for TNT Sports coverage, where she worked as an assistant reporter. Similarly, on May 26, 2016, she got titled ad the women’s basketball coach by athletic director Mike Garrett at California State Los Angeles. On April 30, 2014, athletic director Mike Garrett at Langston University selected her as the women’s basketball coach. Later, Miller played in the championship game in her senior season. Although just a freshman, she got chosen as the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament because of her ability to dominate games with her all-around athleticism. She scored 105 points in a fun and was the first female player to dunk a basketball in a competition.
As rumor has it, Jordan was dating Hailey Bieber in 2017.
Whether they’re still playing or have since retired, these basketball stars are really weird people off the court. In April 2013, 7-foot NBA center Jason Collins came out of the closet, making him the first openly gay professional athlete to compete in the four major sports leagues. As we all know, Miller started her basketball career quite early in her life. The talented basketball player has accumulated great fortune since her early days. She has made an immense contribution through her different roles as a professional basketball player, broadcaster, and coach.
USA Basketball
She’s hosting a virtual 5K for pride month in 2020 to raise money for The Trevor Project. American figure skater Johnny Weir was among the first winter Olympic athletes to come out publicly when he did in 2011. A two-time WNBA All-Star in her own right, Courtney Vandersloot SoulSingles reviews owns a number of league assist records and, like her wife, is a leader on the Chicago Sky. A three-time WNBA All-Star and one of the most prominent faces on the Chicago Sky, Allie Quigley married teammate and longtime Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot in 2018.
All his teammates knew about his sexual orientation, but kept a wall of silence, deciding to opt for team unity instead of possible discord. He later admitted his orientation in an interview with Dana O’Neil of ESPN.com. Salley made a new career out of mouthing off for the television, but he dropped the trash talk for some decisive words to support same-sex marriage during an appearance on Good Day LA in 2010.