A football player for the Air Force team has stepped out of the closet, sharing his hopes that younger gay athletes will have an easier time living openly than he did.
Bradley Kim plays safety for the team, but there was nothing safe about his decision to come out very publicly via Instagram.
Related: WATCH: What’s it really like to be an openly gay pro athlete?
According to OutSports, Kim first told his parents, friends and classmates before coming out to each of his teammates and coaches individually.
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Then came the post:
“God made me this way for a reason,” he wrote. “I did not think this day would ever come, but I’ve finally reached the point where I am comfortable and confident enough with myself to say that I am gay.”
Related: Adorable gay athlete couple profiled in heartwarming new docuseries
He added:
It’s been a long road to get to this point and I definitely would not be here without the love and support of my amazing family, teammates and coaches here at the academy, and my equally amazing friends.
I feel blessed to have such receptive and understanding people in my life.
I hope that I can serve as an example to those who are allowing their fear of acceptance to change who they are. I almost gave up my dream of playing division 1 football for fear of not being accepted by everyone, but today I am happy to say that I am a cadet at the Air Force Academy playing the sport I love with amazing people standing behind me and supporting me.
If anyone feels like they don’t have a voice or feel like they are alone, just know there are plenty of people out there like you and me, and more that are willing to talk to you about it. God bless all and thank you to everyone who has made me feel comfortable to live my most genuine life.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlvwdZcAXL7
Congrats Brad!
Here’s some more from his Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi0gvM3A4MF/?taken-by=bradleykkim
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh74AqyA0q5/?taken-by=bradleykkim
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhiQhX0gPP1/?taken-by=bradleykkim
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc0ubJrnsL1/?taken-by=bradleykkim
Don't forget to share:
Kangol
Very brave, Bradley Kim, and congrats!
elvmn12000
Glad that more and more athletes are coming out giving visibility to the LGBT community.
It is a brave thing to do and appreciate him and all those who have paved the way for future LGBT athletes.
soxegem54
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gdddddddddd
.??????O OPEN~JOB~START
fur_hunter
I can hear the straight community, especially the ‘male’ straight community, crying out. “And why does he have to tell everyone?” THEY have NO CLUE what it means to be gay and trying to hide it because you stupid ignorant, intolerant and bigoted straights along with your intolerant church call us names and tell us we are going to Hell. Prominent men and women coming out as gay lets others who are afraid to do it see that gays are EVERYWHERE and it’s OK to be GAY! The ignorant and uneducated straights will NEVER get it because they are too damn lazy to get off their fat @$$es to find out the unbiased and legitimate information regarding homosexuality. It’s sad but it’s getting better. I was 24 when Stonewall happened and I have seen many changes in my lifetime due to those fighting for Gay Rights.
tham
I understand your generation (your what…72ish) really sucks when it comes to LGBT issues…but since Gen X, especially anyone under 35…
Well, they are kind of wonderful about equality and gender. Under 25, they’re simplely amazing.
So put a smile on your face, life is moving in the right direction.
Kangol
Great point, @tham. But I’d just add that people who came of age in the 1970s in the US and many Western countries actually experienced a brief period of liberation that really was extraordinary. It was before my time, but from all I can tell, and this is true of the wider culture too, strangely enough, while anti-gay laws and attitudes were strong, there also were spaces of socia, political and cultural possibility that even today we have only begun to recapture. You can see this in some of the movies and TV shows from the 1970s that featured LGBTQ characters. AIDS and the conservative backlash of the 1980s really sent us back decades, but the millennial and post-millennial generations thankfully are much more progressive and will keep pushing forward.
Harley
Only one word comes to mind. “YUM”
tham
Ahh good for him!
He’s really cute, even tho I’m not really into football players bodies (more of a hockey/soccer player body guy).
nitejonboy
Congrats Bradley…and damn boy you are hotttttttt!!!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Not sure which I wanna do more…. congratulate him for having the courage and bravery to come out, or do him :-p
Rock-N-RollHS
Good for him
djmcgamester
I absolutely love guys like this who have the courage to be open about who they are and serve as role models for younger generations.
offroadnutz
When was the last time Queerty ever featured a fat person that came out? Everyone and I mean everyone, that is featured “coming out” is either so empowered with exceptional good looks, well-muscled bod or super-naturally endowed. And/or supported by some sports related program, football, swimming etc. or has big bucks so as to not to have to worry about repercussions of coming out. These may be ‘wonderful’, but these are the exceptions. Average looks are okay, but overweight is a gay social death sentence.
What I am saying is that Gays/fags/queers are the most dreadful bunch of hypocrites that walk the earth. Oh, they all talk a good story about how horrible it is to be discriminated against by the cruel cruel world. But, when someone is over-weight or 50+, these very same ‘oppressed’ gays close ranks and shun those people for being less than the ‘gay’ ideal of acceptable.
Queerty is an enabler of these shunning practices. Not once have I seen anything that addresses the hypocrisy that permeates this ‘gay’ society and the total lack of any kind of empathy. If the pretty and the beautiful are the only people that matter (to Queerty), then queers are no better than the gay haters and the Republicans.
brianlange
I have seen very few positive outcomes of coming out in high school or college. I know folks will say we need to come out to support each other until you are the guy getting held down and getting ducked by a broom stick..