US athlete Trey Cunningham comes out publicly as gay: ‘I like to kiss guys’
"Putting something in words makes it real"
US hurdler Trey Cunningham has come out publicly as gay, telling fans: “I like to kiss guys.”
The 25-year-old shared his story in a new interview with the New York Times published on 8 July 2024.
The athlete, who competed in last month’s US Olympic trials, revealed he actually came out to his family and friends five years ago, at the age of 20.
“The scariest thing I’ve ever done” – Trey Cunningham
Explaining that he utilised a training technique in his coming out journey, Trey said: “We say our goals out loud. If there’s something we want to achieve, we say it. Putting something in words makes it real.”
The sportsperson, who ran for Florida State University and won a silver medalist in the 110 metres hurdles event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, added that telling his friends and family about his identity was “the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Trey – who is represented by Ford Models – said that he knows of closeted male athletes. “There are lots of people who are in this weird space. They’re not out. But it is kind of understood.”
Trey, who grew up in Winfield, Alabama, said his home was “rural, quite conservative, quite religious: the sort of place where you did not want to be the gay kid at school.
“So I had certain expectations of what my life would look like, and it took me a little while to get my head around it looking different to that.”
Trey also addressed his sexuality in a recent interview with US Weekly. “Apparently it’s a special thing that I like to kiss guys,” the track star told the outlet.
On pushback, he said: “There’s going to be pockets of places where they don’t tolerate it and they might not champion it, or there might be punishment for it. I think that goes for anything outside of the norm around the world. But for the most part, the students don’t really care as much. They’re just like, ‘OK, cool.’”