Champion divers come out together – and they’re a couple!
Champion US college divers Tanner Wilfong, of the University of Miami, and Jamie Bissett, a Purdue graduate, have come out as gay together – and announced that they’re in a relationship.
Wolfing makes the announcement in an interview with The Roanoke Times, which reports that Wilfong is believed to be the only active male athlete in the Atlantic Coast Conference to talk publicly about being gay.
“I think every day is a better day,” Wilfong says. “Our relationship has changed so much since we first met, because [Jamie] wasn’t even ‘out.’ It’s a complete progression until the day you depart, move on or die.”
“Wilfong, by agreeing to talk to The Roanoke Times for this story, is believed to be the only active male athlete in the Atlantic Coast Conference to talk publicly about being gay,” the Times reports. “He is one of seven gay male athletes to announce his sexuality publicly who is currently competing in a Power-5 conference.”
The couple celebrate their two-year anniversary this month , and Bissett says their relationship has changed in that time:
“He was ‘out’ when we met, and obviously, that was scary for me,” Bissett says. “I’m thankful to have met him. I’ve learned a lot about myself through having met him and definitely credit that whole experience to where I am now.”
“I’m OK with gay being part of my reputation. I like it,” Wilfong says. “In high school, it would have been the uncool thing for me in my mind. Now, it’s the cool thing. It’s just because the cool thing is me being myself and me not caring for a single second what anyone else thinks about me.”
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