Derrick Gordon already made history in 2014 when he came out of the closet and became the first openly gay Division I college basketball player in the U.S. Now, it looks like Gordon is going to make history again as the first openly gay athlete to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
As previously reported, Gordon came out of the closet in April 2014 while he was still a guard for the University of Massachusetts. Although he praised his team at UMass for embracing him as an openly gay man, he later became unhappy with his role at the school and shared that he experienced a slew of homophobic rejections from other schools before transferring to Seton Hall, where he’s now finishing his senior year.
One of the highlights of Gordon’s senior year will happen tomorrow when sixth-seeded Seton Hall will face 11th-seeded Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament in Denver. And as soon as Gordon steps on the court tomorrow evening, he’ll become the first openly gay player to ever compete in the tournament.
Although Gordon has refused to discuss his sexuality this season, his coach, Kevin Willard, recently spoke on the matter and explained that people have been less interested in Gordon’s private life this year anyway.
“I think it was a story when it first happened. But now in today’s society, it’s great,” Willard said in a recent interview. “Derrick came in and he was so easily accepted that it’s been such a pleasure to have him on our team. He’s our leader of our lockeroom. He’s the leader off the court and on the court. So I think the focus this year for Derrick has been his great basketball ability, what he brings to us on the defensive end, what a great leader he is and what a great person he is.”
We’re glad that Gordon has settled in with a great team and that he’s letting his talent speak for him instead of allowing fan and tabloid talk about his personal life eclipse his career.
