Hours before the pro-soccer team Minnesota United played their Pride Night game against FC Dallas, midfielder Collin Martin came out in a tweet. Thanks to the gay soccer player coming out, the total number of out professional sports players in the United States is now — drum roll, please — one. Collin Martin wrote a brief coming out essay, describing the kindness he’s received from his teammates.
Tonight my team, @MNUFC , is having their Pride night. It's an important night for me — I'll be announcing that I am an openly gay player in Major League Soccer. #soccerforall pic.twitter.com/cOJQXfrBiv
— Collin Martin (@martcw12) June 29, 2018
Collin Martin is only the second openly gay soccer player in MLS history. The first was Robbie Rogers who came out in 2013. But Rogers retired last year. Until Martin came out today, there were zero openly gay professional athletes currently playing on American teams.
Happily, Collin Martin received an outpouring of support on his tweet. Robbie Rogers himself even tweeted, writing “Love this! So so inspiring thank you Colin! Good luck this season, except against [Rogers’ former team] the Los Angeles Galaxy.” Other teams, including Toronto, Orlando, San Jose and Martin’s former team D.C. United also sent their support.
Homophobia in pro-sports has long discouraged for LGBTQ athletes from ever coming out. In fact, most recently the National Football League (NFL) was accused of asking recruits if they are gay, a question that reveals the league’s poor understanding of homophobia, even if such questions are technically legal to ask.