Major League Soccer player Collin Martin comes out as gay
The 23-year-old Minnesota United soccer came out last night (June 29)
Professional soccer Collin Martin has come out as gay.
The 23-year-old came out in a Tweet ahead of Minnesota United’s Pride match in support of the LGBT community last night (June 29) against FC Dallas. In the tweet, Martin shared a photo of himself wrapped in a Pride flag alongside a statement.
It read: “Today, I’m proud that my entire team and the management of Minnesota United known that I am gay.
“I have received only kindness and acceptance from everyone in Major League Soccer and that has made the decision to come out gay publicly that much easier.”
Tonight my team, @MNUFC , is having their Pride night. It’s an important night for me — I’ll be announcing that I am an openly gay player in Major League Soccer. #soccerforall pic.twitter.com/cOJQXfrBiv
— Collin Martin (@martcw12) June 29, 2018
He continued: “I want to take this moment t encourage others who play sports professionally or otherwise to have the confidence that sport will welcome them wholeheartedly.
“June is Pride month, and I am proud to be playing for Pride, and to be playing as an out gay man.”
Shortly after Martin came out, MLS (Major League Soccer) Commissioner Don Garber said: “We admire Collin’s courage, and are proud of him and of the support from the soccer community.”
Since coming out, Martin has become the second-ever player to come out during a Major League Soccer career and is currently the only openly gay MLS player.