Kevin Maxen Becomes First Out Gay NFL Coach
21.07.2023 - 19:07
/ metroweekly.com
Outsports.That designation makes Maxen the first out gay male coach — of any level — in men’s U.S. professional sports.While some former NFL players have come out, LGBTQ visibility is still exceedingly rare in the league.
In 2014, Michael Sam was the first out gay player to be drafted when he was selected by the then-St. Louis Rams, but never saw the field in an official game.
In 2019, Ryan Russell, a former defensive end who played limited snaps for the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Bucaneers, came out as bisexual, but was never picked up by a team despite being a free agent. In 2021, Carl Nassib, a former defensive end for Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, became the first active NFL player to come out publicly and play in official NFL games.On the coaching side, several female assistant coaches in the NFL have previously come out as gay, including former San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers, there has previously been no known out gay male head or assistant coach in the league.
Curt Miller, who is currently the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, is the first out gay male coach in the WNBA, but there have been no out gay coaches in any of the four major men’s U.S. professional sports.Maxen, who has been with the Jaguars since 2021, told Outsports that he came out not only to unburden himself, but in the hope of inspiring others while being true to himself.“I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore,” he said.
“I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else. I want to be vocal in support of people living how they want to live, but I also want to just live and not feel fear about how people will react.”Prior to joining the
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