Push Admin

Australian basketballer Humphries comes out as gay

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Australian basketball player Isaac Humphries. FIBA.basketball" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/11/16/fiba_aus-isaac-humphries.jpg"/><figcaption>Australian basketball player Isaac Humphries. <em>FIBA.basketball</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>SYDNEY, Australia -- An Australian basketballer on Wednesday became the first openly gay man to compete in the country&#x27;s professional league, saying he finally felt comfortable telling his teammates the &quot;truth&quot;.</p><p>Isaac Humphries, a 24-year-old who has trained with the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks in the NBA, said he had realized he could &quot;reveal himself as a gay man and still play professional sport&quot;.</p><p>&quot;It is a truth about myself that I have wanted to deny for a long time, but now I feel comfortable telling you all,&quot; said Humphries, who plays for Melbourne United in Australia&#x27;s National Basketball League.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><div dir="ltr" lang="zxx"><a href="https://t.co/YTMc5bzLKc">pic.twitter.com/YTMc5bzLKc</a></div>— Isaac Humphries (@IsaacHumphries7) <a href="https://twitter.com/IsaacHumphries7/status/1592644869121404928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Humphries was reportedly just the second male basketballer to come out while playing professionally, following in the footsteps of queer icon and NBA veteran Jason Collins.</p><p>He was also the first openly gay Australian man to play basketball in a top competition, Melbourne United said in a statement. </p><p>While it remains exceedingly rare for openly gay men to play sports at a professional level, there has been some progress in recent years. </p><p>Collins -- who played in the NBA for more than 10 seasons -- in 2013 became the first man to come out as gay while playing in a top-tier basketball league. </p><p>There had not been another until Humphries&#x27;s announcement on Wednesday. </p><p>&quot;I have been through extremely dark times during this journey, but I have been through so much growth and I am now happy with who I am,&quot; Humphries told his Melbourne teammates in a video shared widely on social media.</p><p>&quot;I want to demonstrate that you can be a professional athlete, you can be anything you want, and still be gay.&quot;</p><p>Other male basketballers have come out as gay, but typically once their careers have ended and they are no longer under the intense spotlight of professional sports.</p><p>The NBA in the United States, widely considered the best professional league on the planet, said it was &quot;proud and grateful&quot; to Humphries.</p><p>&quot;Isaac has our unwavering respect and support,&quot; it said on Twitter.</p><p>Australian Josh Cavallo in 2021 became the first men&#x27;s professional football player to come out as gay while playing.</p><p>© Agence France-Presse</p>

Isaac Humphries said he had realized he could 'reveal himself as a gay man and still play professional sport'.