US University basketball player comes out: ‘I don’t want to hide and be someone I’m not’

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

A basketball player at the University of Massachusetts has become the first first division men’s basketball player to come out as gay.

Derrick Gordon came out as gay on ESPN an Outsports on Wednesday saying his team had been supportive of his decision.

He said: “I want to be myself… I don’t want to hide and be someone I’m not.”

Speaking of his teammates’ response to his announcement, he said they told him: “We’re going to support you no matter what.”

The sophomore was his team’s fourth-leading scorer with an average of 9.4 points per game in the current season.

He said he felt more confident about his sexuaity when he saw openly gay NBA player Jason Collins get signed to the Brooklyn Nets last month.