Bryant assistant Chris Burns has come out as gay in a column he wrote for Outsports, which makes him the first openly gay coach in Division I men’s basketball history.
Advertisement
The assistant basketball coach at Bryant University, in Smithfield, R.I., penned a first-person essay for Outsports.com and gave an interview to USA TODAY Sports, saying that the legalization of same-sex marriage was the moment he knew it was time to publicly come out.
Burns is part of a small group of openly LGBT coaches for any sport, and in telling his story he hopes to encourage more LGBT people of all stripes.
Burns was a guard for Bryant from 2003-07. The ripples he’s creating are huge.
Equally as important for me, though, is returning the focus to what I love – coaching basketball. Burns said. “Being a basketball coach?”
Burns had told Bryant head coach Tim O’Shea over a year ago that he was gay, then the team’s three captains, but it wasn’t until more recently that he sat down the entire squad. “It’s made me think I’m not supposed to be here”, he said to the team.
Burns also was congratulated by other coaches – Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski told USA Today: “It takes a lot of courage”.
“I’m a gay man”, he says, at last.
The Merrimack, New Hampshire, native says he’s been coming out to people in the basketball world over the past few months, and their reactions have been positive and empathetic.
“When the time comes to share your true self, you will feel so much love and relief and hope and freedom”.
Burns’ courageous decision resulted in an overwhelmingly positive statement of support from a peer leader like Krzyzewski, and hopefully other members of the college basketball community will follow the Hall of Famer’s lead moving forward. “Everyone’s personal journey is special and unique, and no one should feel pressure to do anything they aren’t comfortable with”.
Advertisement
There is no greater feeling than being a part of something bigger than just you.
