UMass guard Derrick Gordon has come out as the first openly gay male college basketball player in D-I history. He told his teammates on April 2, a few days after telling his parents, according to a story by Kate Fagan of espnW.com.
Just before Gordon broke the news at a team meeting, UMass coach Derek Kellogg told his players, “We’re all here together, and we need to love each other for who we are,” he said. “One of your family members, your brother, wants to let you know something about himself.”
Gordon said that he drew inspiration from previous players who have come out as gay in other sports, such as NBA player Jason Collins and Michael Sam, a star football player at Missouri.