Yesterday was a huge day for the world of sports, being open abt your sexual preference regardless of venue, & MH advocacy. And this all happened bc of the bravery of one man: @isaachumphries7 w a short video talking directly to his teammates, in their locker room. The video is up in our Stories.
Humphries played for Kentucky, made it to the NBA w the Atlanta Hawks, & is currently playing for Melbourne United in the NBL (Australia’s top league).
In coming out as gay, Humphries became the only active top tier bball pro, to do so. This comes not long after @carlnassib did something similar in the NFL last season, playing for the Raiders.
The beauty in the video is not only in Isaac’s genuine delivery, but in the reaction of all those supporting him. At a time when coming out in that type of venue’s still a big deal, that love & acceptance said a lot.
But that’s not all Isaac revealed. He also shared how holding on to this secret for so long, made him drop to a “dark place,” & while “there,” he’d attempted suicide.
Those who identify in the LGBTQ community have attempted suicide at ~4x the rate of rest of the population. Here’s the thing – there are no definitive stats I could find on how those attempts break out relative to before or after they’ve openly shared their sexuality w others.
What Isaac’s story does share however, is that his dark place, & his attempt, came before he was open. In the world of trauma – doesn’t this make sense? You’re struggling w a secret & a fear of acceptance, & that makes you feel isolated & alone, w “what-if” scenarios, galore. Why bring this up?
On the next slide➡️ when Carl Nassib did first come out, artist Juan Muniz created that beautiful character of him, making the SameHere sign, & Darren Rovell shared it w his following, along w acknowledging how real the struggles of coming out must be…that as a global community, we can ALL be a lot more accepting – bc trauma is trauma, pain is pain.
Imagine a world where we can connect on our shared pain REGARDLESS of where it comes from. Would love it for that connectivity & SUPPORT, to make a massive dent in that 4x stat.
