Pro Basketball Player Sebastian Vega Comes Out as Gay
Sebastian Vega has become the first out gay professional basketball player in Argentina’s history after coming out in a post on social media.
The 31-year-old player (for the team Gimnasia de Comodoro) opened up in his post about the years of shame he felt — and the toll it’s taken on him personally.
However, he made it clear that his family and team have supported him fully after the news.
He also describes how he felt torn between his desire for men and his desire to be “normal.” Then, he met a woman who’d become his girlfriend for six years.
He wrote, “It was months of absolute personal confusion. I lied to myself, denied reality, I was frustrated, sad…. I wanted to fit in. I wanted to be like my colleagues and friends.”
“Fear directly paralyzed me,” he added, as translated by LGBTQ Nation. “I was terrified that someone would suspect that I was gay. I became a closed person. I isolated myself so I wouldn’t have to explain myself and I even stopped doing things I liked so I wouldn’t expose myself to anything. I cried and cursed myself for a long time.”
He began seeing a therapist and decided to come out to his father. Gradually, he began coming out to his closest friends, his team captain, and his other teammates. Now, he’s certainly come full circle.
“I no longer had to live in the shadows anymore,” he explained.
No you don’t, Sebastian!