The annual National Coming Out Day is Sunday and this would be the perfect time to highlight 73 LGBT athletes, coaches, trainers and media people who have come out since the 2014 coming out day. That's an average of six per month in the last year.
It's an impressive list showing a broad range of sports. It is not meant to be exhaustive, so if I left someone off, let me know and I will add them. Also, some of these people came out prior to the last coming out day, but their stories were just made public since. Below their name is a link to a story where you can read more about them, along with a quote about their coming out.
Chris Burns, college basketball coach
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"As I met other gay men in sports, and other gay men with similar interests to mine, I found so many people that I felt I could connect with on a level that made our sexual orientation somewhat coincidental. That was crucial for me."
Mason Darrow, football
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"Telling my teammates was the best decision I have ever made."
Sean Conroy, baseball
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"It's not that I wanted it to go public, but I didn't care if it was open information. It's who I am. I am definitely surprised that no one else has been openly gay in baseball yet."
Adam Rippon, figure skating
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"I want to be a relatable example. And I want to say something to the dad out there who might be concerned that his son is a figure skater. I mean look at me; I'm just a normal son from small-town Pennsylvania. Nothing changed. I'd just like to be a good role model. I've been honest with myself the whole time. I worked hard and loved what I did."
Noah Ratliff, water polo (photo above)
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"To be out as an athlete and still receive support from teammates lets me see that all people want is for me to be happy and to succeed. To see other athletes coming out and receiving support makes me happy. I hope that any athletes coming out can receive the same support and love from their family, friends, and teammates just as I have."
Ayrton Kasemets, swimming
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"Some of my favorite highlights from my freshmen year of being openly gay is the "fashion" stigma surrounding gay men. I like to think of myself as a guy who dresses nicely. I like to look good. Whenever any of the guys see me during the day they always compliment me on what I am wearing. I feel like most straight guys would be uncomfortable to compliment another guy on their looks, but it is quite the contrary. They seek me out for my advice on fashion."
Landon Patterson, transgender cheerleading
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"My cheer friends didn't care. I was so close with them; most of those people were the ones who I told first. I was really scared to tell my coach. I ended up telling her any way because we are really close. She didn't care and she told me that she would do her best to make sure that I could be in the girls' uniform and be in the girls' dorm at camp."
Bobby Petrino Jr., football
Story"I wouldn't really say my dad helped me be comfortable with my sexuality growing up. He was who I feared the most regarding it. I had a gay uncle on my mother's side and he wasn't really talked about too much. But once I came out to my dad — and I was dating a guy at the time — he was great about it. My boyfriends have always come over for family dinner, been on family vacations. And he was really nice to them and was interested in who they were. … Everyone has accepted me and loved me for who I am. It is a non-issue in our family."
Israel Gutierrez, ESPN commentator
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"I decided on this simple blog entry. No formalities, no restrictions, just me letting you into a portion of my life I've kept largely separate from my professional career. I'm gay, which plenty of people, I'm sure, have either deduced or just guessed as much over the years."
Sam Stanley, rugby
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"I've wanted to do this for such a long time but didn't really know how to and telling people one by one would have been way too stressful. … I've not been happier and now this huge burden has gone I can move forward and finally be myself. No more lying. Feel liberated!!!"
Jeremy Brener, high school journalist
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"I want to change the world by proving that there is no need for hate just because someone has a difference about them. Being gay has made me feel passionate about this. Nobody deserves to be treated differently because of something they cannot change."
Warren Hall, athletics chaplain
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"The best way to live is to live honestly. Honesty with oneself is the most important thing, but you have to be honest with other people."
David Denson, baseball
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Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them. They said, 'You're still our teammate. You're still our brother. We kind of had an idea, but your sexuality has nothing to do with your ability. You're still a ballplayer at the end of the day. We don't treat you any different. We've got your back.' "
Keegan Hirst, rugby
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"One day, a few months ago, I just thought, ‘You know what? Actually, this is who I am. I'm gay. I felt I could finally be honest with myself."
Jesse Taylor, basketball
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"I am at the point in my life where I have realized a few things: 1) this is MY life; not one to be dictated by others. 2) I have control over my happiness. 3) God made me this way, I can't change who I am. With these few things being true, I no longer need to hide the fact that I am gay."
Mason Caminiti. Transgender bodybuilding
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"I let nothing stop me, including the opinion of naysayers and the self-doubt that lingered most of my life. I realized that I, Mason Caminiti, counts and belongs to something greater than HIMself. I've lifted weights as if my life depended on it because indeed, it has."
Griffin Hay, cross-country
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"I had thought months before the race, I would love to win an individual state title so I could say, " 'Gay kids can compete and beat straight kids. You have to stop stereotyping us.'' "
Janae Marie Kroc, transgender powerlifting (photo above)
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"Living as a transgender woman that is honest about her situation is very difficult and can be dangerous. I am a very realistic person and I don't think the transitioning will magically solve all of my issues without creating new challenges. Whatever path I choose there will be sacrifices to be made."
Jon Denton-Schneider, swimming
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Swimming also has to be one of the gayest sports there is. I mean that both in terms of the Speedos as well as the out athletes. Actually, I mean that in terms of all of the athletes. … And yet while I was in high school, the idea of coming out as a gay athlete absolutely terrified me."
Erik Mitchell, ski jumping
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"I've been able to read other stories of other gay athletes, and they have been powerful to me. Visibility matters, and it's really important to be out and out there. If I were to allow another athlete to put their full selves into sport, that would mean the world to me. Athletes fighting for gold, silver and bronze are all in it together. It doesn't matter who they are. It only matters how far you can jump."
Javier Ruisanchez, swimming
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"The support from my teammates means more than anything to me. I was afraid they would feel uncomfortable and would start treating me differently, but nothing changed. It actually brought us closer because there were no more secrets. I felt free, and for the first time in a while, I was able to practice without any concerns."
Schuyler Bailar, transgender swimming
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I assure you I'm still the same goofy, nerdy, crazy Schuyler that you've known. I'm not changing who I am, I'm not changing my personality. I am only changing my body so it matches my insides and my feelings.
Ryan Ward, acrobatic gymnast
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I have been out of the closet to my closest friends and closest family members for years. However, I just recently came out in my sport, to my father, and to the rest of the world. I felt like it was time to live truthfully for myself and to show pride in what my boyfriend and I have created and share.
Fred Hartville, gymanstics
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"At that moment [when his teammates accepted him]. I just kind of blacked out just from the excitement. It was that moment I felt free."
Connor Natella, soccer
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"I shouldn't have had to consider my future in the game because of something completely irrelevant to it. I shouldn't have had to hide my identity for so long. It is a real issue and it turns people away from the game all the time. If you think that there aren't LGBT players at every level of the football pyramid, you are frankly kidding yourself."
Ramona Bachmann, soccer
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"I'm very open. I do not care if someone is with a man or a woman. In Sweden we deal with this issue fortunately also very open and easy to."
Nathan Novosel, basketball
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"Many factors drive us to achieve in life. Until I was 22, one of my key motivators was the fear that people would find out who I really was—a gay man—and not accept me. As a result, this fear kept me constantly busy."
Matt Dils, golf and cross-country (photo above)
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"In the end it didn't matter that I was gay, it just mattered that I stayed true to myself and people loved me for me, and not my sexual orientation."
Matt Hatzke, soccer
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"It was during one of those Pride parties that I met my boyfriend. The level of excitement I had just talking with him that night – how natural our interaction felt – confirmed everything I had questioned in myself."
Chris Kelley, rowing
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"I've always sorta known I was different. I like athletic men in the bedroom sense. At 15 I was gay, severely in the closet, and attending public school — and anyone who's different is the target for bullying. To protect myself, I buried the gay under flannels, mom jeans, and Converse high-tops. And lots of denial."
Rex Woodbury, track and field
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"Over the years, I've looked toward different role-models for different parts of my life. Athletically, I always admired the professional soccer player Robbie Rogers. I think he was a pioneer as a gay athlete, and he's a great example of being open and honest with teammates and coaches."
"Money" Matt Cage, pro wrestling
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"I truly have nothing to hide anymore. I spent the majority of my life lying, hiding and depressed because I felt like I couldn't truly be who I wanted to be."
Andrew Schweitzer, track and field
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"I guess my biggest hope to get out of this is to make it clear that this should not change the perception you may have already had about me. I'm just your average guy, still the exact same person you all knew in 1st period this morning."
Drew Allensworth, cheerleading
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"Coming from a small town in Oklahoma, being raised on a farm and in church every Sunday, makes it pretty much impossible to be gay, right? Nope."
Konrad Eiring, track and cross-country
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"Coming out has transformed my confidence and happiness and It hurts to know that there are fellow athletes and youth who are still in such pain. When coming out you will find that there are so many people that will support you. It is hard, really hard but you will see it almost immediately begin to change your life. So be true to yourself and it will make all the difference."
Alec Donovan, wrestling
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"I've done a lot of great things ever since I was suicidal. But yeah, helping other people makes me most proud."
Cody Derby, athletic trainer
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"There's never a right time… There's never a right place… There's never a right way."
Kendra Fisher, hockey (photo above)
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"There's this assumption that it's not necessary for women in sports in particular to come out publicly. It's failing to understand the importance of having the conversation and being in that place."
Anthony Pepe, bowling
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"God made me a beautiful, respectful, genuine gay man. He also created everyone equally so if you can't respect me go ahead and unfriend me out of your lives."
Tanner Williams, track and field
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"On June 19, 2014, I got married. To a man. And both of us live in Oklahoma. It was something I wouldn't have thought possible a couple of years ago."
Theodore Lisoski, football
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My team is inclusive with me and my sexuality. The Portland Monarchs have become the Portland Pit Bulls, and this year I'm on the roster! Sure, I'm down the depth chart at cornerback but I've gotten some playing time so far this season. It's a dream.
Cameron Banning, announcing
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"I had a boyfriend in college for almost two years. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell my friends, family, or former teammates. I needed someone to support me if it all came crashing down. Though I had accepted who I was, I was fearful others would not."
Andrew Goodman, cross-country
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"Defying the stereotype of, ‘You're gay so you're not as good athletically,' is huge."
Cole Fox, wrestling
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"We aren't all dumb wrestling jocks. We can be caring and joyful. I also think this is a good opportunity for athletes, and specifically wrestlers like me, who are in the same situation I was just a few years ago. I want to be that guy I needed when I was in middle school and early in high school. No one should feel excluded or different growing up, and all should be able to dedicate themselves to what they love and succeed."
Stephen Ossola, sports management
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"It's been a year since I came out. Cliché as it is, I already feel like I've had a lifetime of happiness. I'm able to look in the mirror and actually see my true reflection and feel a sense of pride."
David Gilbert, track
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"Growing up as a Jehovah's Witness, I have been told many times whom I can and cannot be. There are so many standards set by both society and the religious community in regards to what is 'right' or 'normal.' We are told from a very young age how to do right in our lives and sometimes that means changing parts of who we truly are in order to fit in. It has taken me awhile to realize that this is truly a devastating way to live. This past year it's been slowly hitting me that I cannot fight who I really am anymore. It's a battle that I'll never win. This being said, I have made the choice to stop battling who I really am in order to make others happy."
Angel McCoughtry, basketball
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"One thing I do know is that LOVE is a great feeling! My last overseas team threatened my job if I didn't write a fake letter on social media saying my relationship was a lie. But all I know, love is a great feeling."
Dalton Maldanado, basketball
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"To this day I haven't lost a friend over coming out," Maldonado said. "I've actually become closer to them. In fact, the one person in my school and on my team I was scared to tell sung the song ‘Same Love' to me as he told me he would always be here for me and was proud of me. It was then that I realized how truly blessed I was."
Sean Warren, football
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"People describe me as a person who doesn't really conform. I wanted to do something different than people just announcing that they're gay. I wanted to come out in my own way, since that's how I feel coming out should be. I wanted to do it in a fun sort of way and so it wasn't awkward."
Mike Pucillo, wrestling
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"I think telling [my best friend] was an unbelievable weight off my shoulders (and) I didn't think I would feel that good just telling him."
Max Milander, announcing
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"My bosses know I'm gay. They're fine with it. Several colleagues know I'm gay. They're supportive. Even my main broadcasting mentor I worked with doesn't have a problem with it. I still haven't met anyone from the industry who has told me that because I'm gay, I can't do what I want to do."
Chad Walker, cross-country
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"I got to the point where I just couldn't lie anymore. Anything less than being totally truthful and forthright became, in my head, a lie. One by one I told my teammates. One by one they were totally accepting of me, some of them telling me that they loved me for being me."
Michael Martin, soccer
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"My homecoming dance was the big moment I revealed being gay to my school. It was the slow dance that I most remember that night at the school cafeteria — 'Remember When' by Alan Jackson. It was the best night ever."
Jason Burch, baseball
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"Anyone who has played with me and has been in the bullpen with me knows I'm not afraid to talk about sex or gay rights or feminism or anything that some people might consider academic. I was interested in seeing how they handled it and what they thought about it."
Hunter Fromang, basketball
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"All my life, thinking that people would find out my little gay secret, I knew I had to work harder than anybody out there just to prove that I belonged with everybody else and could compete with the best of them. I never wanted to hear, 'Oh Hunter, your being a wuss' or 'You play like a queer' – That would have crushed me."
Dalton Ray, football (photo above)
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"One saying that has guided me through all of this: 'It Gets Better.' It's hard to realize that when you're stuck in the middle of the country hearing gay slurs every day. As I opened up my true self to people, I learned the power and truth of those three words. It's meant so much that I tattooed it on my arm."
Alejandro Graterol, baseball
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"All our lives society has taught us to conform, but even though we all do it, conformity is a pretty fucked up thing. In recent months, I've learned that genuine and authentic people are truly the best kind of people in this world."
Will Mansfield, golf
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"After I accepted myself, the first step was telling other people. One of the first people I told was my girlfriend. I trusted her. It is one of the hardest things I have ever done. When I finally muttered the words, paralyzed with fear, she supported me. There was no change, I was no different and she realized that and loved me all the same. Her reaction gave me hope that everything would work out, that maybe I wouldn't be ostracized."
Julie Shaw, basketball coach
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"In every instance where I share my story it is another time I am coming out. The fear comes from how will people respond. Will this be something that hurts my professional career? How will this affect my team?"
Tom Luchsinger, swimming
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"My friendships have gotten stronger because of my self acceptance. My smile is a lot more genuine and surfaces much more frequently. I laugh a lot more. My body has time to recover from a workout because I'm actually an easy-going person. I have found qualities-both physical and emotional-that I like about myself – though that's still a work in progress. My number of good days far out number my bad days."
Rob Brakel, Arizona Cardinals video director
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"Everyone around me knows who I am. I'm a guy who will give the shirt off his back to help you. I'll do whatever I can to help people. And I've had enough."
Dawson Roscoe, track and field
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"You can either go up or down in life and I'm choose to go up where greater and higher opportunities lie. I'd like to remain and hopefully get better in athletics and in choir throughout high school and – if I choose to – in college. I didn't intend to write this or even come out as a junior but I felt there was never going to be a perfect time."
Sam Sendel, trampoline
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"I felt like I didn't have to hide who I was,'' Sendel said describing the feeling after coming out. "I wasn't leading a double life anymore. I could really just focus on competing as me, rather than competing as the person I was pretending to be.''
Eric Radford, figure skating
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"The judges' job is to mark our skating. Any sort of bias they could have, they are taught how to judge and how to be as unbiased as possible. It doesn't always happen. But I'm not afraid."
Ryan Murtha, swimming
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"I want to be able to help people going through the same thing that I did. If sharing my story can help just one person, then it will be worth it."
Dale Scott, MLB umpire
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"I am extremely grateful that Major League Baseball has always judged me on my work and nothing else."
Rosie Cossar, gymnastics
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"I never dressed 'butch,' but people noticed," Cossar told Outsports. "My coach would ask me why I wasn't wearing a dress. She seemed disappointed. My other teammates would get excited about getting dolled up and I just didn't care."
Tina Hillman, shot put
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"I want to prove to myself and others that you can be physically strong, succeed in a masculine sport and still identify as feminine."
Austin Olivares, swimming
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"Being an openly gay athlete has taught me a lot about myself. It's made me very comfortable with myself and I've been very patient and accepting towards the people around me."
Robbie Manson, rowing (photo above)
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"When I was 19 I knew I was attracted to guys, but I still didn't want to admit it to myself. I thought that I could just deny those feelings and be straight."
Rob Kearney, strongman
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"I thought it was important to be honest. People need to know that one of the top strength athletes on the planet is also gay. But I didn't want it to affect my ability to compete."
Ben Larison, baseball
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"I do not think that I have ever experienced a moment in my life where I felt as relieved as I did in that moment. To be completely honest, coming out has been one of the best decisions I have ever made."
Thomas James, triathlon
Story"Crossing that finish line in Kona was the challenge of a lifetime but nothing compared to the challenge and terror of 'coming out' at 40. But I accomplished both, and don't think I could have done one without the other."
If you want to tell your coming out story, contact Outsports at [email protected]. This post has been updated to include Warren Hall.