A few female coaches in the American leagues sent shockwaves among fans after coming out publicly about their sexual identity. The wave has reached the Jacksonville Jaguars’ team, as their assistant strength and conditioning coach Kevin Maxen has also boldly revealed his sexual identity.
Maxen became the first male coach in major American men’s professional sports to publicly confirm himself as gay. He performed duty as a strength coach at the Baylor Bears and the Vanderbilt Commodores before starting his journey with the Jaguars in 2021. The coach played linebacker for Division III school Western Connecticut State University and led his squad in tackles for two seasons.
Kevin Maxen creates history in American sports
During an exclusive interview with Outsports.com, Maxen said he has been together with his partner Nick for nearly two and a half years. He said he decided to be vocal about his identity to live his life without having fear of what others might be thinking and also inspired others to do the same.
“I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore. I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing or why I am living with someone else. I want to be vocal in support of people living how they want to live, but I also want to just live and not feel fear about how people will react.”
The Jaguars owner Shad Khan released a statement via ESPN on Thursday to support their coach and marked him as a key member of our football team.
“Kevin is a Jacksonville Jaguar through and through, and a key member of our football team and community. I look forward to seeing Kevin next week at training camp and hope that he comes to work each day during camp and through the season feeling confident, free, and at peace. I know our players and staff feel the same.”
Carl Nassib went public about being gay in 2021
The Las Vegas Raiders former star Nassib was the first active NFL player to come out publicly about being gay by sharing a video of him to his Instagram account. The defensive end revealed how comfortable he was after being able to share his identity with the fans.
“I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.”
Las Vegas Raiders DE Carl Nassib comes out as gay
He also announced a $100K donation to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth. pic.twitter.com/5Xobd9s0pp
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 21, 2021
He disclosed his decision to donate $100,000 to the Trevor Project which works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youths and said he hopes the coming-out process would not be required in the upcoming days.
“I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that like one-day videos like this and the whole coming-out process are just not necessary, but until then I’m going to do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.”
Many NFL players come out after retiring from the league and hence, Nassib‘s bold move was appreciated by his team and fans as well.
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