Dan Woog is tired of waiting for a US pro athlete to come out

In his essay looking forward to 2012, Dan Woog looks at what happened in LGBT sport in 2011, sees 2012 as an extension, with the addition of the potential for visibility of LGBT athletes at the Olympics, but focuses on a big question:

In countless interviews, I’ve been asked the same question: “When will a big-name male athlete come out?”

I always answered the same: “It won’t happen that way. Instead, some athlete who’s been out all along – in high school and college – will be drafted by a pro team. They’ll know he’s gay. They’ll want him because he’s good. So it will happen naturally, from the bottom up. The MVP of the Super Bowl won’t suddenly say, ‘I’m here. I’m queer. I’m going to Disney World.”

That line always got laughs. I still believe we’re on the verge of seeing openly gay athletes work their way into the pros, without too much commotion.

But I’ve changed my mind on the importance of the issue. Now – a decade and a half after I first wrote about gay male athletes – there is still not one out male athlete in a major team sport.

I’m tired of waiting.

It’s time for one of dozens of candidates to seize the moment.

Read in full HERE.