Byron Perkins is enjoying a Pride Month moment. Just last week, the first out gay football player in HBCU history revealed his boyfriend to the world.
And now, Perkins is the subject of a new CBS Sports documentary, “Beyond the Limits.” In it, the redshirt senior chronicles his journey post-coming out and the joy he’s experienced living as his authentic self. The Hampton University defensive back says he’s never felt more free.
“I don’t deserve to suffer anymore,” he said. “I don’t deserve to chain myself to the ideas of society, and consider myself invaluable, because someone else said so. No.”
Those words reflect Perkins’ message when he publicly came out as gay last fall. He was in a dark place, and as he phrased it on Instagram, needed to “destroy his mask.”
“I have been told on many occasions that I walk around a look as if I’m upset,” he wrote on his coming-out story. “This is not because I am an angry person, but because I have put on a mask, a mask that has restricted me. Today, I am destroying that mask.”
Perkins has been an inspiration since coming out, especially to other athletes at HBCUs. On the Tamron Hall Show last year, he said he’s trying to be the example for other gay young Black athletes that he lacked.
“I didn’t realize it was going to have as much impact as it had,” he said. “I thought I was just doing something that was going to help me. I didn’t realize I would be an influence for everybody else.”
“Beyond the Limits,” a series that explores and celebrates athletes’ lives and impacts away from the playing field, is returning this month with three half-hour episodes. Hosted by CBS Sports reporter, AJ Ross, all episodes will air on the CBS television network and then be available for streaming on Paramount+.
Perkins is the subject of the first iteration, which aired Sunday.
“There are so many more dimensions to who I am as a person than just this one variable,” he says. “If this one variable doesn’t sit well with you, then quite honestly, I don’t care.”
While other college football players have come out before, including Kansas State’s Scott Frantz and My-King Johnson at Arizona, Perkins’ distinction of playing at an HBCU is significant.
“Especially at an HBCU, young Black gay men need an outlet,” he told Outsports. “They need a support system. There hasn’t been an out gay football athlete at an HBCU. I want to end the stigma of what people think. I want people to know they can be themselves.”
He’s doing that on a daily basis, most recently showing off his new boyfriend on IG. They posted a series of candid (and adorable) photos last week commemorating their first Pride together.
Perkins’ man, James “JD” Dunn, led his Pride Month photo dump with a picture of the happy couple.
Perkins excelled on the field after coming out, a common occurrence among gay athletes. Pro baseball player Anderson Comas, who plays in the Chicago White Sox’ minor league system, said recently he feels better than ever once he decided to live his truth.
Perkins recorded 22 tackles in 12 games last season, including five against Albany on Oct. 15, four days before his big announcement.
During the CBS special, he says he’s just happy to be himself.
“I chose to live. I chose to be myself. And I chose to blossom to my maximum potential,” he said.
We can’t wait to see what Perkins achieves next.
Scroll down for more pics of him excelling on and off the gridiron…
Thad
Hampton is my favorite HBCU, with a beautiful campus and a pharmacy school! I’m glad Byron Perkins could thrive there.