The story of gay Kentucky high school basketball player Dalton Maldonado went viral as soon as Outsports published it earlier this week. Frankly, we've never seen an Outsports story explode the way Maldonado's did. It's easy to understand why, given the bravery he showed, and the love and acceptance his team and school offered, after he was the target of gay slurs on a basketball court.
Today Maldonado posted on Facebook for the first time since coming out. He didn't come out for attention, and his lack of interest in media interviews reflects that. He wanted to share his story to help young LGBT people and offer an example of finding acceptance through adversity.
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After the publication of the article that announced my coming out, I have received many emails and messages inquiring about the name of the school involved in the incident. Please understand that this wasn't the point of my article. Never was it my intention to bring negative attention to that school or to have them be bashed. Who knows. Maybe the players who did this could have changed their beliefs or anything, and I believe in second chances!
The point of my article was to showcase that while many individuals are against homosexuality, there are even more individuals who you will find to be completely supportive of you. For that reason, coming out won't be as bad as you expect! You won't lose as many people as you think, and sometimes people will even surprise you. Even those you were hesitant about telling will still be there for you, and you might even become closer!
In doing this article, I hoped that I could somehow reach out and help people. Never did I hope to hurt anyone or to cause anyone any kind of trouble! My story was meant to bring positive attention to coming out and the support you gain when doing so, not to bring negative attention to those involved in this situation. Thank you!
If you are able to look at Maldonado's Facebook page, you'll see the young man is beloved by many and has a great heart. We couldn't be more proud of him, his team and their courage.
