Orlando Cruz: First Openly Gay Professional Boxer Comes Out
Cruz has come out as the first openly gay active professional boxer in the sport’s history. “I have always been and always will be a proud gay man,” he said in a public announcement on the evening of Oct. 3.
Cruz, 31, competed at the 2000 Olympics and is currently the fourth-ranked Featherweight in the world, according to the World Boxing Organization.
(PHOTOS: A Visual History of the Gay-Rights Movement)
“This is something that I’ve been contemplating for years,” the Puerto Rican boxer told TIME, in Spanish. “It’s a difficult decision for many people but I want to be me. I want to be Orlando Cruz and I don’t want to pretend.”
Cruz’s announcement came with the twin goals of being true to himself and being a better role model for young fans. While he says that he has encountered homophobia in the boxing world, he declined to elaborate on the form that discrimination took. (And on Thursday, boxing fans on twitter were not universally happy about Cruz’s news; one fan wrote that Cruz “messed up his whole career [and] he will really be the most avoided boxer.”) His family has known of his sexual orientation for years and he said he was very happy with his decision to come out—and the positive messages of support that he has received from fans and his fellow pugilists alike only boost that confidence. “It has to come from you,” he says of choosing the right time to come out. “Every person has that decision to make for themselves.”
Read more: http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2...#ixzz28OPuOAD0
Burnz, this is your moment cutie pie, join the revolution and announce it. We won't dislike you for your TRUE self!
http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2...ruz/?hpt=hp_c2
Cruz has come out as the first openly gay active professional boxer in the sport’s history. “I have always been and always will be a proud gay man,” he said in a public announcement on the evening of Oct. 3.
Cruz, 31, competed at the 2000 Olympics and is currently the fourth-ranked Featherweight in the world, according to the World Boxing Organization.
(PHOTOS: A Visual History of the Gay-Rights Movement)
“This is something that I’ve been contemplating for years,” the Puerto Rican boxer told TIME, in Spanish. “It’s a difficult decision for many people but I want to be me. I want to be Orlando Cruz and I don’t want to pretend.”
Cruz’s announcement came with the twin goals of being true to himself and being a better role model for young fans. While he says that he has encountered homophobia in the boxing world, he declined to elaborate on the form that discrimination took. (And on Thursday, boxing fans on twitter were not universally happy about Cruz’s news; one fan wrote that Cruz “messed up his whole career [and] he will really be the most avoided boxer.”) His family has known of his sexual orientation for years and he said he was very happy with his decision to come out—and the positive messages of support that he has received from fans and his fellow pugilists alike only boost that confidence. “It has to come from you,” he says of choosing the right time to come out. “Every person has that decision to make for themselves.”
Read more: http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2...#ixzz28OPuOAD0
Burnz, this is your moment cutie pie, join the revolution and announce it. We won't dislike you for your TRUE self!
http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2...ruz/?hpt=hp_c2
No comments:
Post a Comment