Coming Out Stories

Eric Radford has an Olympic silver medal in figure skating. Now he aims for a gold medal in 2018 - with his skating partner Meagan Duhamel - as an openly gay man with his "gay family" at home.

Kris Burley was a successful Canadian gymnast but not comfortable coming out to his team. He hopes to make a difference for a new generation of athletes.

A photo with his husband in a small magazine was his first public acknowledgment. "I am extremely grateful that Major League Baseball has always judged me on my work and nothing else," he says.

Rosie Cossar heard homophobic language from coaches and judges, but felt her role representing Canada in the Olympics meant she had to come out as gay.

Simon Dunn has played for the Sydney Convicts gay rugby team and now turns his attention toward elite bobsleigh.

Matt Schulte didn't want to be gay. That was the revelation the lifelong Kansas City Royals fan arrived at two months ago as his team — who is now also his employer — was fighting for a playoff spot. Despite sharing his sexual orientation with a couple close friends and family, Schulte felt shame for […]

Tina Hillman is the defending indoor and outdoor NCAA champion in the shot put at Iowa State. She is also pansexual, another color in the LGBT rainbow, dates people who happen to be male and female, and loves expressing her femininity in a masculine sport.

Austin Olivares can be himself and not worry about what people think.

Robbie Manson, Olympic rower for New Zealand, comes out publicly as gay, talks about the struggles in the closet and coming out to friends before the 2012 Olympics.

Eric Lueshen's first-hand account of being an openly gay football player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers a decade ago

Kearney coming out in the macho world of strength sports is a game-changer, writes the author, himself an out bodybuilder and coach. Kearney has become "a force for change."

Tim Cook has opened up part of his private life to the public, opting to help LGBT people instead.

Ben Larison plays baseball for Coe College in Iowa. When he met tennis player Mark Kroll, it started a two-year journey that brought them both out to their teams and into a loving relationship.

Thomas James had a great job and four kids but was living a lie. An invitation to the Ironman changed his life.

Robbie Macaraeg came out to his mom in the middle of a Seattle Seahawks game, but his mom was too engrossed in the game to pay attention until a commercial break.

"Rather than letting these words hurt me, I used them to motivate me to perform better," Tristan Bunch, 18, writes.

Matt Llano, a professional distance runner and former Richmond spider, comes out publicly as gay and shares his journey in a new video.

Evan Risk is a jr. high school track & cross-country coach in rural Iowa. When his friend talked about killing the queers at an Iowa basketball game, he knew he had to come out to him.

Former basketball player and coach Katie Barnes talks about their fear of being out and having to live a double life while they coached at a Catholic school.

Sports cameraman Scott Winer has worked America’s biggest sports. He opens up about being gay, his dream job in the pros and years of dealing with sexual assault.