"And The Truth Shall Set You Free..."

 

First Division II US College Basketball Player Comes Out
22-year-old Derek Schell has become the first ever Division II basketball player with the US National Collegiate Athletic Association to come out publicly while still playing

8 OCTOBER 2013
By Andrew Potts

College basketballer Derek Schell has told of his experiences coming to terms with his sexuality and coming out to his team mates and family in an article for OutSports – becoming the first openly gay player on a Division II NCAA basketball team to go public about his sexual orientation.

Schell told OutSports that he had known that he was gay since he was 10 but only began to be comfortable about that since coming out to his family and meeting his boyfriend of two years.

‘I hid these feelings from everyone close to me and "I’m fine" became my personal motto,' Schell writes.

'As a star athlete and a successful student, I held a high social rank at a prestigious Catholic high school. For most 17-year-olds, that is a dream come true. For me, it was a nightmare.

‘My friends, my parents, my sister, my teachers - everyone expected me to be an all-star, to help lead the basketball team to a state championship and to date a pretty girl. I wanted people to accept me and to embrace me, so I let those expectations take control.

However Schell writes that in his sophomore year of college he began to explore his same-sex attraction online, eventually meeting Kevin, his boyfriend of two years, and finding the confidence to come out to friends and family.

‘I began to realize that my life was my own,’ Schell writes.

‘I came out as gay to all my closest friends because I wanted to see who was really a true friend to me ... I eventually told my family, the three absolute rocks in my life.

‘This past month I told my team mates and coaches ... I decided talking to them individually was better than giving a general speech at once, since I have a distinct relationship with each of them.

'Some said they had a feeling and were waiting for me to tell them. Some seemed surprised but nonetheless gave me credit for being open about it.

‘They all respected me and recognized that nothing had changed and I was the same team mate and friend that I was before. Despite attending a conservative college, I have been accepted for who I am by those on my team and others close to me.’

However despite being the only out player in his division, Schell is not alone in college basketball – Benedictine College student Jallen Messersmith became the first Division I NAIA men’s basketball player to come out via OutSports in May this year.

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"Fear Eats the Soul"