It’s amazing to us how athletes stumble across Outsports and decide to tell their story for the first time. The latest is Brian Sims, a former college football captain at Bloomsburg University who was openly gay during his senior season run to the National Championship game in 2000. He found Outsports in part through longtime supporter, longtime activist and creator of the Philadelphia Phillies Gay Community Day, Larry Felzer.
Anyhow, we talk all the time about how athletes are out to their friends and family, some of them are out to their teams, but the press has no idea; And if they do, they don’t write about it. This is a great example of that. Here’s the captain of the national runners-up, he’s openly gay, his friends and team know, and not a peep is talked about it in the press for nine years.
It’s wild to me that this story has such a positive spin to it, given where it happened and when it happened. But we can add this to the long list of positive stories of athletes coming out of the closet on their team. Since the story of Greg Congdon, we simply haven’t heard a negative story of a male athlete coming out (though we’ve heard a couple negative stories of lesbians coming out to their teams). And this story is, again, from 2000.
We hope you enjoy it as much as we’ve enjoyed getting to know Brian.
on May 24th, 2009 at 1:31 PM
It really shows how cruel the fates can be. You have this story and look what happened to poor Greg Condon.
on May 24th, 2009 at 1:37 PM
Yes, Greg Condon got served up the sh*t sangwich we all feared and which keeps guys in the closet. Ya never know. Simms might end up a 360lb. 50 year old too but he’d be one hot bear just the same LOL
on May 24th, 2009 at 3:55 PM
*bows and nods head in shame*
You are something else. Only WE can turn this into something comical. I bet Jim, Cyd, and Sims are going to be pissed.
on May 24th, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Yeah, I might have wanted to reconsider that. Sorry. No disrespect meant to (or imply anything about) Sims or anyone else who might have a spare tire or the middle aged spread like I am developing no matter how hard I try to thwart it
Cyd and Jim apparently are gym rats so no worries there and Sims looks terribly fit too.
My experience in a brief 47 years of life is things seem to reach an equilibrium. The hot guy of the moment isn’t hot forever. Our looks and abilities fad as we age but usually a nice person get nicer.
BTW 4RH we are in violent agreement about most issues discussed previously and can disagree about the rest NP.
on May 24th, 2009 at 7:46 PM
I would discuss things more on the messageboard but I haven’t received a confirmation in my email yet. I try to log in anyway but it says my log-in is incorrect.
on Aug 19th, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Brian is one HOT man!
on Dec 10th, 2009 at 9:33 AM
After reading the headline, I thought perhaps he was formerly out and is now back in.