The first
openly gay Division I college basketball player is moving on and speaking out.
UMass guard Derrick Gordon announced Sunday that he's
transferring to Seton Hall, but he told USA Today he encountered plenty of
discrimination along the way in his inquiries to potential new schools.
"During
the recruiting process, a number of schools didn't want me because I'm
gay," Gordon said. "To me, that's blatant homophobia. At the end of
the day, no coaches will ever admit that they don't want me because I'm gay and
there's baggage that comes with the attention."
He added that
the reaction of many programs caught him off guard and left him hurt. "I
was starting to lose hope," he told the paper. "I felt like I was
being treated like an outsider, like I didn't belong in the NCAA." Gordon
didn't specify any universities.
Gordon came out in April 2014, saying he was inspired to
do so by Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player. But a recent survey found homophobia is still pervasive
in the U.S., as well as in many other English-speaking countries.
Last season, as a guard for UMass, Gordon started all 32
games and averaged 9.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Gordon told
USA Today he had no issues with the way he was treated at UMass, calling the
decision to transfer basketball-motivated. The Huffington Post reached out to
Seton Hall, but the school said it couldn't comment until the transfer is
official.
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