The LGBTQ community is spread widely all around the world, and unlike the old times, We have seen more and more sports athletes coming out openly to announce their orientation. Several athletes kept their sexual orientation a secret out of fear of discrimination, but now that awareness about LGBTQ issues is rising, many Gay athletes have come out. Basketball is also not excluded from LGBTQ recognition in the major leagues of sports, with many players coming out as well. We really appreciate the players who came out publicly and also made it possible for others to do the same without worrying about being criticized. In this article, we will tell you about some basketball players who you probably didn’t know were gay.
List of 10 Basketball Players who came out as Gay
Isaac Humphries
Isaac Humphries is a professional basketball player who currently plays for Melbourne United in the National Basketball League. He also used to compete for the Kentucky Wildcats in College basketball. Isaac is the only openly gay male Professional basketball player who is active in a major league worldwide. He made history by being the first male basketball player to come out of Australia and the first openly gay player in the NBL.
Marco Lehmann
Marco Lehmann is a Swiss professional basketball player. He came out as gay by posting a YouTube video and also wrote an article for FIBA.com. Lehmann said that he has struggled a lot to hide his identity as gay and was also forced to lead a double life while growing up as a player. He decided to come out publicly when the pressure became too great and he couldn’t hide it any longer.
Dalton Maldonado
Dalton Maldonado is currently an American basketball player and LGBTQ rights activist. He grew up in Kentucky and gained wide recognition when he shared his horrific experience of bullying when he came out as gay during a high school game. Dalton was noticed nationally and was also featured in Outsports magazine. He was named “Person of the Year” by the magazine and was also featured in “Magazine Out” in 2015 as one of the most influential people in the LGBT community.
Jason Collins
Jason Collins has played center for a variety of teams during his 13 seasons in the NBA. Collins was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 18th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. Later, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets. Collins came out as gay on April 29, 2013, and became the first male athlete to play in one of the four major professional team sports in North America to do so.
Derrick Gordon
Derrick Gordon is a professional basketball player who plays as a shooting guard and has played basketball for three universities in America. When he used to play for the Kentucky Hilltopper, Gordon came out as gay during the season and also participated in his first game in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I men’s basketball. While studying in middle school, Gordon began to wonder if he was into men. He revealed to his family and teammates in 2014 that he was gay. Later that year, he decided to come out publicly and became the first Division I men’s basketball player to come out as gay.
John Amaechi
John Amaechi was a professional basketball player from 1995 to 2003. He not only competed in the NBA but also in France, Greece, the UK, and Italy. After retiring from Basketball, Amaechi founded his own company, “Amaechi Performance Systems,” and began working as a psychologist and consultant. He came out as gay in his book “Man in the Middle,” , which made him the first former NBA player to do this publicly in 2007.
Uri Kokia
Uri Koki was a professional basketball player from 2000 to 2019 and played as the power center. During his professional career, Uri spent his time switching between approximately 10 top-tier teams in the Israeli league. He was named the Israeli Basketball Super League’s Most Improved Player in 2009. Uri came out as gay on November 28, 2017, and became the first male professional basketball player in Israel to do this publicly. Currently, Koki is the head coach of Ironi Ramat Gan in Liga Artzit.
Jeffrey Trammell
Jeffrey is a native of Blountstown, Florida, where he led his basketball team to a state title and also earned the title of High School All-American. Trammell received a basketball scholarship to study at the College of William & Mary. There, he led the basketball team as captain. On October 29, 2013, he married Stuart Serkin at the US Supreme Court. It is believed to be only the second same-sex marriage held in a Supreme Court building. Currently, he is an American public affairs Consultant .
Travon Free
Travon is a former American Basketball player who is also an actor, author, and comedian. When Free was a student at Dominguez High School, he used to play basketball and was also awarded “Team Player of the Year” by the Los Angeles Times in 2002. He used to entertain the team with his humour during his injury to the meniscus in his right knee, which required surgery. That was the beginning of Travon’s comedy career. He came out as bisexual in 2011 and later appeared on the cover of Gay Times in 2018.
Will Sheridan
Will competed in College basketball for the Villanova Wildcats from 2003 to 2007. After graduation, he played basketball for the Italian Basketball League. Sheridan first came out as gay in private to Mike Nardi, who was his teammate and roommate at Villanova at the beginning of his first year. A few months after the end of his first year at college. Will also came out to his parents. His Villanova teammates were aware of his sexuality but remained silent in the interest of team harmony. He came out publicly on May 16, 2011, during an interview with Dana O’Neill on ESPN.com.
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