Coming Out Stories

Antonio Logan-El, who never played for Penn State, is comfortable living as a gay man.

John Fennell talks about being gay in Russia for the Olympics and the fear that instilled in him.

Hangman, a treasure hunt and coded cupcakes were among the ways Alexandre Coholan used to tell friends he was gay. It helped make the process easier but also masked the nervousness he was feeling.

Chip McKenney had a long career as an equestrian athlete and now finds fulfillment with Gay Polo League.

A male rower and a female competitive cheerleader wade through the waters of coming out to their friends, family and teams.

Drew Martin and his fiancé, Blake Macon, are both Mississippi State alums. The gay couple met and became engaged at Mississippi State football games. Now working for TCU, Martin finds himself accepted by the athletic department but unable to marry his gay partner of six years.

TJ Quinn and Bob Ley revisit the 1999 coming out of Corey Johnson, who was the first high school football captain we know of to come out as gay to his team.

Nick Jessee has been out since he was a high school freshman and there was never any looking back. The freshman swimmer at St. Louis University wins respect and accolades from his team.

Gay swimmer Austin Parrish struggled coming out to his parents. Bridges are still being built.

"I realize that now that I don’t have weight on my shoulders to keep my head down," Lauren Elizabeth Neidigh writes. After she comes out, she finds an inner peace that was lacking.

Gay UMass basketball player talks to Outsports a few days before coming out.

After a year of isolation, gay UMass basketball player Derrick Gordon discovered the strength to share his truth with family and teammates. He becomes the first active male NCAA Div. 1 basketball player to come out publicly. Last Wednesday, at the request of redshirt sophomore shooting guard Derrick Gordon, University of Massachusetts men’s basketball head […]

Eby gave a moving coming-out speech to his Chapman University football team on March 18 that sent them into applause. One teammate called him his hero.

Wide receiver Marcus Juhlin has won four straight national championships with the Carlsbad Crusaders.

Gay former college offensive lineman Garrett Snoeyenbos had stints at Vanderbilt and Navy before leaving the sport where he felt he didn't belong.

Erskine College volleyball player Drew Davis, who struggled with reconciling being gay with the Southern Baptist Church, was outed inadvertently to one of his teammates during a Skype chat. Juan Varona was out in high school in Puerto Rico. Both are embraced by the team, which owns the nation's second-longest current win streak.

Coming out to his teammates at the University of Virginia was easy for Parker Camp compared to his family. The result was unconditional love and a burden lifted. "We are the definition of a modern family," his brother said.

Gay Notre Dame varsity tennis player Matt Dooley attempted suicide in 2011. He came out to his team exactly two years later, and their acceptance helped save his life.

"It's one of the best things he's ever done because it's made us closer friends," said a teammate on the Drew University baseball team. "It doesn't change a thing."

Lane Forsman grew up intimidated by sports but found Ultimate open and inclusive to all.