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Colin Joyner and Ben Chadwick (pictured)
Tearing down walls
The pair at Bowdoin are tearing down walls of homophobia at rural liberal arts school in Maine. |
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Seth Pamperin
Captain of his team
In conservative, small-town Wisconsin, yet another openly gay athlete finds unconditional acceptance in sports. |
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Jared Max
Coming out on the radio
The ESPN 1050 host says he feels liberated after coming out, was a "schmuck" for not doing it sooner.
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Brad Usselman, Ben Newcomer, Robert Scott
Three high school athletes who started a blog
"Walk the Road" is designed to tell the stories of young athletes who have decided to come out. |
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Gareth Thomas
Living a new life
The rugby star is thrilled that his coming out story is making a difference. He is also thrilled that Mickey Rourke is going to play him in a movie.
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Will Sheridan
Becoming a role model
While at Villanova, he was openly gay to his teammates and now has come out publicly. He talks about wanting to make a difference; the chord his story struck; the homophobic taunts he received from fans and his big plans as a recording artist.
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Brandon Stoneham
A soccer player's journey
Stoneham, a Division 1 college soccer player at Adelphi University, struggled with his sexuality and thought about giving up the sport. But with the help of his family, close friends and music that touched his soul, he realized that true happiness lies in being himself. |
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Nick Clark
Finding the strength to come out
He denied for years that he was gay and threw himself into sports, especially volleyball. He then found religion but finally came to the realization that there was nothing wrong and is now out and proud. |
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Mari Burningham
Leaving the Mormon Church
She long wrestled with her sexual attraction to women, married a man and tried to fit in. She writes about how she finally accepted who she was, left the church and found happiness.
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Emma Dehlson
Finding acceptance
She plays basketball at a Catholic girls school and feared what her coming out would mean. The reaction was all positive.
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Akil Patterson
Finding his sports niche
He never fit in as a college football player, where he spent a lot of time partying and coping with his sexual identity. He is now blossoming as a gay man and competitive wrestler.
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Kye Allums
Transgendered player on basketball team
The NCAA’s first Div. 1 publicly transgender basketball player, is starting conversations never before held in the sport.
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Sean Coyne
Creating a safe space for gay athletes
Collegiate track and field athlete went from being a closeted and scared freshman to a tireless advocate for LGBT athletes on his Bucknell campus. |
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Troy Smith
Coming out at a Catholic college
Troy Smith broke down barriers and built acceptance at St. Vincent College. |
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Cory Benton
Overcoming fears
Columbia sprinter faced racial stereotypes, but found strong support on his team.
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Andrew McIntosh
Overcoming adversity
Despite suicidal thoughts, Oneonta lax captain Andrew McIntosh found his way out of the closet.
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TJM
Racing to acceptance
TJM has reconciled being gay with being a practicing Christian. Now he faces his biggest test -- coming out to his teammates. |
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Chad Conley
Surviving through thick and thin
The Canadian battled injuries, addiction and stress over his sexual orientation during his days as a competitive figure skater. |
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Nils Sundin
Coming out to his team via a research study
For a gay college soccer player, being true to his research meant sharing his story with his team. It was a stressful decision that paid off in the end.
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Brian Sims
Former college football captain was openly gay
Defensive tackle Brian Sims was the captain of the Bloomsburg University football team. Actually, Sims said he didn't come out to his team: "My team came out to me." This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it <!-- document.write( '</' ); document.write( 'span>' ); //-->
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Jenny Fulle
She proved that girls could play
Jenny Fulle is the executive vice-president and executive producer of Sony Pictures Imageworks. Her film credits include the just released "I Am Legend," all three "Spider-Man" movies, two of the "Matrix" movies, "The Chronicles of Narnia," "Ghost Rider," "Surfs Up!," and "Open Season."
The journey of how Fulle got there starts back in the 1970s in Marin County, Calif., where she grew up, and begins with a little kid that really, really just wanted to play baseball.
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Jack Mackenroth
Swimmer in the spotlight
Jack Mackenroth excels in the pool and on reality TV. “I just always have lived very honestly and openly,” he said.
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Rod Llaneza
Kickboxing his way out of the closet
Rod Llaneza competed with a point to prove – ‘Y’all got beat by a sissy.' |
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Keith Carney
For speedskater, being gay a non-issue
I came out during graduate school at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, graduated two years later, worked the perfect job then decided to pursue my dream of becoming a long track speedskater.
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Kirk Walker
Baby makes 3 for coach and partner
Oregon State softball coach Kirk Walker comes out to his team after deciding to adopt. |
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Jordan Goldwarg
Coming out liberating for college skier
Life as an openly gay athlete: 'Coming out often felt like jumping off a 30-foot cliff into a deep pool of water.' |
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Ryan Quinn
A gay jock's call to arms
Skier's coming out earns team's respect: 'I could not approach my potential as an athlete if pieces of myself were scattered.' |
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Sheryl Swoopes
Out in the WNBA
The superstar talks about her decision to come out. |
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Billy Glover
No more running away, gay college runner says
'I wasn't going to let some ignorant man mess with my dreams and tell me that I am not worth it.' |
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Jamal Brown
Out Dartmouth College runner shares his experiences
Runner talks about running out of the closet in Ivy League track & field.
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Anthony Castro, R.I.P.
A tribute to a friend and an athlete
Anthony was that rarest of people – an athlete out to his team. In Anthony's case, he was out in high school to his football and wrestling teams, our two most macho team sports. |
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'Tim'
Gay college football player fits in well on his team
Neither totally out nor closeted, kicker finds the right environment to be himself.
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Corey Johnson
The co-captain of a Massachusetts high school football team may be the first high school athlete in the nation to declare his homosexuality so publicly while still enjoying the support of his teammates, parents and coaches.
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Christopher Macies
College triathlete comes out
Athlete has found acceptance at Columbia and in triathlons.
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Brice Dahlmeier
Volleyballer declares he's gay by playing Hangman
College athlete in California finds one strategy does not fit all for telling family, friends and teammates.
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Adam Goslin
Out college baseball player coaches softball
Player came out as a two-sport athlete at Washington University. Now he's returned to his high school as a coach.
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Hank Weintraub
Gay athlete at Brown diving into leadership role
Brown University water polo player is setting an example for gay athletes on campus everywhere.
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Andrew Langenfeld
Out swimmer to compete at Olympic Trials
“Swimming is definitely one of the sports that is more accepting of gay athletes,” Langenfeld says. “It might be because of the close relationship we all have. I mean, we’re all running around in small bathing suits, so we’re all very close."
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John Amaechhi
A gay NBA player comes out. The Outsports interview.
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Dave Kopay
Still Going Strong
The former NFL player remains an outspoken advocate for gay rights.
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Esera Tuaolo
No more hiding
Former NFL player comes out: "I Feel Wonderful."
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Matthew Mitcham
Out diver wins Olympics gold medal
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Robbie Martin
Being outed 'blessing in disguise' for volleyball player
His teammates in college did not mind having a gay teammate. Martin has rekindled his love for the sport in the gay volleyball world. |
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Sean Smith
Swimmer, coach at Rutgers was out
His attraction to men was something he had been working through for a couple years. "I didn't want to deal with it," Smith said. "I didn't want to like guys."
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Matt Coin
Sharing a secret
A tennis player finds the right time to come out.
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Joey Fisher
Georgia hockey goalie comes out
Player came out to open arms before the season.
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Eric Anderson
A gay track coach tells his story
"I just couldn't lie and hide anymore to anybody," he says. |
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Jen Moore
Tired of being an anomaly
Out collegiate softball player tells her Penn classmates: "I am proud of who I am. I hope that you are able to look yourself in the mirror and say the same thing.
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Simon Latimer
A diver's coming out story
Athlete had retired but came back to honor a friend. |
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Graham Ackerman
A gay gymnast is champion again and wins back-to-back national championships.
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Glenn Burke
The man who invented the high-five
Player was a gay "hero" with feet of clay. "People were just honored to he in his presence. My God, a major league player, and he's gay." |
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Mark Bingham
A gay rugby player was one of the heros of 9/11.
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Mike Crosby
Harvard water polo player makes a splash
Athlete has gotten used to being unique. “I’m the only openly gay male varsity athlete at Harvard,” says Crosby. |
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Dwight Slater
Player made a bold decison to come out
The player was a redshirt freshman at Stanford in 1998 when he decided to tell his head coach, Tyrone Willingham that he was gay. |
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Tyler Hoffman
Gay ump: There are more of us out there
There are two gay umpires in Major League Baseball. Maybe more, but at least two, says Tyler Hoffman, a gay former minor league umpire who has had a face-to-face conversation with one and traded emails with the other. |
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Andrea Zimbardi
Florida softball player fights for her rights
This should have been a happy time for Andrea Zimbardi. Her University of Florida softball team was in the NCAA playoffs and she had been hoping to play a key role as the team’s catcher. Instead, Zimbardi was forced to sit in the stands in Gainesville and watch, wondering what might have been, and what went wrong.Life as an openly gay athlete: 'Coming out often felt like jumping off a 30-foot cliff into a deep pool of water.' |
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J.P. Calderon
Out 'Survivor' contestant serves it up
J.P. Calderon never envisioned he'd be a volleyball coach, certainly not for girls and women. |
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Brandon Triche
Persevering through adversity
Triche is a rare person in American sports--an out, active male athlete. His teammates and coaches and fellow students know, and what's striking is that it's become a non-issue. And that suits him just fine. |
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Ryan White
Part of the crew
A rower comes out: If your teammates don’t accept you, then you really aren’t on a team,
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Andrew Glenn
The strength to come out
A gay Penn State rower feeds off others' stories to tell his teammates. |
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Sean Burns
"Team, I'm gay"
A former West Coast tennis coach of the Year tells why he came out to his team. |
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Brian Fell
UCLA track star now comfortable being out
Brian Paul Fell is a world-class sprinter. He ran track at UCLA and was a two-time national champion: in the 4x400-meter relay and the distance medley, in which he ran the 400-meter leg. He has qualified for and competed in three Olympic trials. |
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Andrew Goldstein
Openly tending goal for Major League Lacrosse
Andrew Goldstein, who came out of the closet a year ago as a senior goaltender for Dartmouth, is playing for the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse. |
