In June 2018, soccer player Collin Martin made the choice to come out of the closet. In a social media post, ahead of his team’s "pride night" game, he shared that he had been out to his friends and family, but was ready to live openly as a gay man.
“In light of my experience as a professional athlete, I want to take this moment to encourage others who play sports professional or otherwise to have confidence that sport will welcome them wholeheartedly. June is Pride month, and I proud to be playing for Pride, and to be playing as an out gay man,” he wrote in the post.
While there have been other out athletes, Martin is the only gay man currently playing in any of the major U.S. sports leagues.
Since coming out, Martin, who was named Outsports' Male Hero of the Year, has been very vocal about supporting the LGBTQ community and using his platform to do just that. He has posted on social media supporting organizations like Athlete Ally and hosted an LGBTQ fundraiser for Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tim Walz.
Martin has also made time to have some fun since coming out. The soccer player appeared on James Corden’s late night talk show for a “Tinder Live” segment, where he choose a date from a group of eligible bachelors.
While the soccer player came out as a midfielder on Minnesota United, he has recently been loaned out to Hartford Athletic for the rest of the 2019 season.