Argentina’s First Openly Gay Basketball Player Talks About Coming Out
Sebastian Vega is Argentina’s first openly gay basketball player. He recently talked to ‘Reuters’ about his coming out journey.
“When I started to feel attracted to a man, I had a very bad time,” Vega recalled. “I felt shame, guilt, a lot of rejection, but at the same time the desire to be with someone,” he explains.
But after he decided to come out to his fans, becoming the first openly gay professional basketball player in Argentina’s history, everything changed.
“I was really scared, but the fear didn’t paralyze me,” said 31-year-old Vega. “I felt truly free: it had been a long time since I’d walked without such a heavy weight on my shoulders.”
Vega also talked about the general homophobia visible in the sport, whether that includes homophobic chanting and violence by fans or even players using homophobic slurs, on and off the court.
“Unfortunately, (homosexuality in sport) is still a taboo topic,” said Vega. “It’s very difficult to say you’re gay...you have to be masculine to not be (seen as) less than.”
He also expressed that times now are more promising for athletes to come out that they were a few years ago. He states that “If I had (come out) five or six years ago, I don’t know if society would’ve been ready,” said Vega. “People are becoming more aware.”
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