University of Miami diver Tanner Wilfong (above right) and recent Purdue University graduate diver Jamie Bissett (above left) have made headlines by coming out together in a Roanoke Times profile.
And guess what? They’re in love! D’aww.
Bissett, the reigning Canadian national 3-meter champion in diving, and Wilfong, the first active athlete in the history of University of Miami to come out as gay, have been dating for two years after meeting as competitors at the U.S. championships.
As per the Roanoke Times:
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Wilfong, by agreeing to talk to The Roanoke Times for this story, is believed to be the only active male athlete in the Atlantic Coast Conference to talk publicly about being gay. He is one of seven gay male athletes to announce his sexuality publicly who is currently competing in a Power-5 conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC).
Bissett is now training to represent Canada in the 2016 Olympics. He told the paper, “[Tanner] was ‘out’ when we met, and obviously, that was scary for me,” adding, “I’m thankful to have met him. I’ve learned a lot about myself through having met him and definitely credit that whole experience to where I am now.”
Wilfong described struggling with his sexuality growing up, repeating the mantra each day, “You’re not gay. You’re not gay. You’re not gay. You’re not gay.”
Now he’s singing a decidedly different tune, and is happy to be known as a “gay diver.”
“I’m OK with gay being part of my reputation. I like it,” he said. “In high school, it would have been the uncool thing for me in my mind. Now, it’s the cool thing. It’s just because the cool thing is me being myself and me not caring for a single second what anyone else thinks about me.”
Congrats to them both!
Scroll down for some photos of the two divers:
h/t: Towleroad
Bryguyf69
Oh my…
That’s all. I just wanted to be the first commenter.
Chris Adams
Now it’s Thomas finchums turn
John Kuehnle
Wonderful for them both.
Jim Long
Congratulations gentlemen!!!
Erik Hall
Here is the original story:
http://www.roanoke.com/sports/colleges/the-one-and-only-tanner-wilfong-miami-diver-with-virginia/article_a438c307-2753-528f-89c7-644f987aa793.html
Skot Skotnicki
Big whoop.
Barb Kipper
Be Happy !!
Ken VanArsdale
Go figure. Lol.
lauraspencer
Shocking!
Has any gay guy come out in the past month that isn’t an athlete?
Bryguyf69
@Chris Adams: Ain’t gonna happen until he gets a new coach. His current coach has him on some Christian prayer ritual.
I think the next to come out should be Stanford’s golden boy, Kristian Ipsen. And he ain’t no brainless Business major like so many pretty boy athletes. He’s majoring in International Relations. Brains and body…
Photos (love the Stanford photo of him in a suit with spikey hair)
http://tinyurl.com/q3ccfo9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAHVT_LdHy8
Bryguyf69
@lauraspencer queeried:
“Has any gay guy come out in the past month that isn’t an athlete?”
===
My girlfriend’s coworker just came out and he’s 270 lbs, mostly fat (by his own admission).
MEFrid
Being a Purdue grad its funny to see a fellow Boilermaker out and about. Wonder if they still run the Purdue Nude Olympics on the coldest night of the year??? These guys should partake.
Jonny Joe
Spot on, guyz!! Congrats to both of you!!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Love to dive into those two! :p
drivendervish
I think things have gotten out of control after Michael Sam came out as a senior in college. The reason that story was so big and publicized wasn’t because Michael came out as much as it was about the sport he plays. Football is considered to be a bastion of ultra masculinity and it was impossible for some people to believe that a gay man could actually play the sport. The culture around swimming, volleyball, gymnastics, ping pong etc. isn’t nearly as homophobic and foreboding and coming out isn’t that big a deal.
Nahald
I for one cannot wait for the day when coming out isn’t required and ALL sexuality is just a normal state of being. I don’t hear heterosexuals coming out as straight, the opposite should be true as well. It makes us feel different in some way that it is not considered normal, when it’s been shown that it exists in ALL mammals, not just humans.
Bryguyf69
@drivendervish: While that’s true, a major demarcation is whether it’s a team sport or individual sport. As expected, gays feel more comfortable coming out in individual sports. I started doing research on whether the percentage of gay athletes is significantly lower in team sports, but never got through the sampling stage. I also wanted to know if gays are truly less athletic. I suspected the answer to be yes and created a developmental model to explain why. Gay friends of mine accused me of homophobia. Of note, I am talking specifically about males. Female athletics is a whole different ball game.
As an aside, the accusation that gays “throw like a [straight] girl” is apparently true. Hall and Kimura did some fascinating work on his. Hall, in particular, found that gay men and straight women are worse at gross movements, while better at precise movements. Gays and straight women were less accurate aiming at a far away target, whereas lesbians and straight men excelled. This might explain why so many gays are in figure skating and the arts. Or maybe not.
One thing that surprised me is that no major male tennis player, active or retired, has come out post-Stonewall. Former basketball player Jason Collins claims that he is currently encouraging one such player to come out. Rumors are flying on who it is, and I base my guess on Collins’ alma mater. Of note, “Big” Bill Tilden was gay and reportedly out in the 1920’s, but it’s unclear how out he was. His orientation was only publicly known because of two arrests for corrupting minors. His celebrity friends, however, knew that he was gay.
lauraspencer
@Bryguyf69:
Congrats to him!!! He deserves to be celebrated as well.
lauraspencer
@Nahald:
Millennials need for attention and possible fame is part of the problem. People have been coming out for years with little to no attention from anyone other than family and friends. Now millennials and sites like this one think there is a need when every day people especially if they are good looking, athletes or young need to be announced.
Holland Taylor who has been a fixture in film, tv and theatre for over 40 years came out and queerty was slow to report on it. Maybe if she was 25 and jumped off a diving board it would matter more.
Billysees
“I’m OK with gay being part of my reputation…the cool thing is me being myself and me not caring…what anyone else thinks about me.”……Tanner Wilfong
Now that’s a mature attitude to have. Many more will feel the same way as time goes on.