After last year’s explosive exodus of athletes coming out of the closet, former college basketball star, Will Sheridan, shot to fame as part of that growing number of athletes who are proudly sharing their sexuality with the world. And even though Sheridan has retired from sports to focus on his hip-hop and nightclub career, he recently spoke about the impact of gay athletes coming out and why he hopes the younger generation feels inspired by the LGBT sports movement.
During his interview with Accidental Bear’s Mike Enders, Sheridan clarified that, despite popular notion that he came out in an ESPN interview in 2013, he actually came out of the closet in 2011. However, his admission drew little coverage from the media.
“I think the community kind of ignored it. It was crazy but it’s fine because I didn’t do it to be famous. What I did it for was because a lot of kids and adults didn’t think there were gay basketball players or people who play sports. Now that people are coming out it’s really cute — like Jason Collins, Derrick [Gordon] from UMass … I really want like a gay Lebron James … a superstar,” he said.
Although Sheridan retired from professional basketball in 2007, he says he now plays for the San Francisco Rockdogs, an all-gay basketball team that competes both nationally and internationally. Sheridan explains that the brotherhood he feels for his gay teammates is the same that he shares with his former straight teammates from the Villanova Wildcats.
“I felt like that about my straight boys. They were like my brothers and they still are. I love Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry, and all these guys that play in the NBA now, Dante Cunningham,” Sheridan said. “But my [current] team is like a family. It just really takes me out of my box and makes me explore doing other things. But, you know, we all queen out. It’s all fun.”
Well, we’re glad that more and more LGBT athletes have come out along with Sheridan and we don’t doubt that there will be an out gay sports superstar in the future. – nicholas robinson
