The
professional sports world is still a tough place to make it if you’re a queer
man, at least according to Derrick Gordon.
Gordon, who
broke boundaries in 2014 as the first openly gay player in the NCAA,
told Asbury Park Press, “I didn’t get a fair shot to show
what I could do” in the NBA, claiming that “it was without a doubt because
of the fact that I’m gay.” He also revealed that he hadn’t received a single
tryout with an NBA team.
“Nobody was
calling,” he said. “Even after I went to the (Las Vegas) combine in July, I
still didn’t get any feedback.”
Gordon, who
transferred to Seton Hall, became the first openly gay player toparticipate
in the NCAA’S March Madness. He told the paper that will now pursue a career as a San Francisco
firefighter.
Gordon
previously spoke out about the way that his sexuality has affected his career,
saying that he encountered
“blatant homophobia” in his attempt to transfer schools.
Homophobia continues to be a major issue in the sports
world at large and while some progress has been made on some levels, the
search for an openly gay sports superstar continues.
Jason
Collins became the NBA’s first openly gay player ― and the first
openly gay male athlete in any of the four major professional sports
― when he came out of the closet in 2013, but he
retired from basketball just 19 months later.
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