Friday night Derrick Gordon became the first openly gay Division 1 men's basketball player to compete in a collegiate game starting as a shooting guard & contributing to Massachusetts defeating Siena 95-87 at the Mullins Center. Gordon scored 17 points on 3-of-12 shooting, added nine rebounds, three assists & two steals. Gordon came up big at the free-throw line, hitting 11 of his 12 attempts. In April 2014 Gordon came out to his family & teammates. Gordon subsequently chose to come out publicly stating, "I just didn't want to hide anymore, in any way ... I've been waiting & watching for the last few months, wondering when a Division I player would come out & finally I just said, 'Why not me?'". He further said that Jason Collins becoming the first openly gay player in the National Basketball Association inspired him to come out. Gordon's family was mixed in their responses to his coming out but he received praise from Collins & Michael Sam, who became the first openly gay player in the National Football League. Last May at the GLAAD MEDIA Awards I talked to Derrick Gordon about being the first out NCAA basketball player, about his NBA aspirations & the future of LGBT athletes in this exclusive audio interview:
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