Independent pro wrestler Jack Andrews became the latest in a growing community of out LGBTQ pro wrestlers to announce himself to the world as gay.
“I came out gay on Facebook, Twitter you’re (sic) late,” Andrews tweeted Wednesday. “Don’t feel like it’s necessary but [I know] how people are.”
Andrews has made a name for himself throughout the Ohio Valley in recent years both on his own and alongside his regular tag team partner Chris Copeland, collectively known as The Awesome Odyssey. The duo became the inaugural Unsanctioned Pro tag team champions in January 2020 and are set to challenge for the Paradigm Pro Wrestling tag team titles at the promotion’s Juneteenth weekend event Reasonable Doubt on June 18.
While Andrews’ announcement on Twitter brought his identity to many, it wasn’t the first time he included himself as part of the LGBTQ community. As Andrews mentioned, he previously came out as gay in a February Facebook post dripping with his trademark spiritualism.
Andrews evoked the spiritual designation of LGBTQ people as “gatekeepers” by the Dagara people, an African Indigenous group within the nations of Burkina Faso, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
According to the Dagara, gatekeepers live at the edge between the tactile and spiritual worlds and exist as mediators between the two. They hold a similar position between genders and have a duty to maintain balance and understanding between them.
Andrews identified himself as a gatekeeper in his post before clarifying himself. “Aka I’m gay,” Andrews wrote.
Outsports congratulates Andrews for his power and pride in showing that courage is contagious.
