In a powerful new essay published by Outsports, college tennis star Mitchell Thomas writes candidly about coming out to his teammates and the surprisingly response he received.
Growing up in a religious household in southern Louisiana, 22-year-old Thomas says he lived a pretty sheltered life and didnât know any LGBTQ people before enrolling at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia four yeas ago.
âNeedless to say, when I began to recognize myself as a gay man, I had no gay role models around me,â he writes, âespecially not in tennis.â
Thomas kept his true identity hidden from the other players on his team for years, which made him feel âlike a robot.â
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âWhether it was in the locker room or on the bus back from an away match, I gave programmed responses to my teammates on âwhoâs the hottest girl at W&L?â or âwould you f*** her?'â he recalls.
But after nearly four years, the weight of hiding such an important part of himself became too heavy.
âHaving to ignore and hide an important part of my identity from my teammates, people with whom I spent more time over the last four years than I did my own family, was tearing me apart and leaving my tennis to suffer.â
Then last August, he met his first boyfriend. Slowly, Thomas began coming out to the people in his life. First to his friends, then to his family, and, finally, to his teammates.
âWhile coming out to my parents definitely took the most courage and strength, there was a unique nervousness that existed when I came out to my team,â he writes.
âSexuality is never discussed in tennis. Through all my time playing tennis, from countless USTA junior tournaments all over the South to the college matches across the country, I never encountered anyone who identified as gay (that I know of).â
In fact, Thomas continues, he couldnât think of a single openly gay competitive male tennis player who was gay at any levelâjunior, college, or professional.
âBecause of this lack of representation in tennis and in sport in general at my university, I could only rely on my love and respect for my teammates in determining how they would react to news that I was gay.â
To his surprise, when he finally told them, he was met with only love and support.
âThey reassured me that they supported me in all I do,â he recalls. âA weight had been lifted off my chest that I didnât even know was there for so long.â
âI worried about being socially ostracized â being ignored and sometimes excluded â in various settings. I worried about being limited to the assumptions that often come with the âgayâ label.â
âBut now I can say with confidence, my team doesnât treat me any differently. If anything, they are more open and accepting of me now that I am my genuine self.â
Thomas graduated from Washington and Lee University last month with a major in Economics and a minor in Computer Science.
Scroll down for more pics from his Instagram pageâŠ
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Vince
Did you read his story Graham because nothing in there was a surprise?
More like clickbait and look at Instagram hottie I found!
Skip
Clickbait header, I agree.
The only surprise that I see is that of Mitch’s, being surprised that coming out to his team was no biggie. As it should be.
Congrats to him, nonetheless! And: cute couple. đ
Bubbleandsqueal
2Q2BStr8!
dhmonarch89
Male tennis players have been cowards for years! You would think Martina would have showed the way- coming out and being more successfully almost 40 years ago (1981)- she said it liberated her and allowed her to soar (her results from after coming out- fall 81 through 1986 are unmatched by any player- male or female in history!) Jan Michael Gambill denied it for years and hasn’t officially said the words ‘I’m Gay’, but does now post pics with boyfriend…Brian Vahaly never came out in his career but his now married to a man…neither player were ranked in the top 10. In tennis, you’re not beholden to an owner for a contract like team sport players- they could always find a reason not to offer you that job, but tennis gets prize money per event- and if you’re ranked in the top 50, you make a damn good living, so money really shouldn’t be an issue.
tennisguynyc
Hey douche, STFU! I know tons of guys on the circuit who have come out. Played the satellites in Europe and tons of guys were cool with being gay. It’s just all the girls would hit on us when we had to go out doing stupid press stuff.
Karlis
Seems like a nice guy, but shoes on the sofa! I just can’t. đ
tennisguynyc
Good for him for coming out….however, he is not really a tennis player. You can tell by how he’s gripping his racket in the “serve” pic. Ouch…it hurts to look at it. Am glad he seems to have found a “modeling career” in LA. Well done, sir. I got into W&L but didn’t go because, at the time, their tennis coach was also their wrestling coach.