These past two weeks have weighed heavily on Orlando Cruz. But as soon as he walked out to a cheering crowd displaying flags of his native Puerto Rico, boxing's first openly gay fighter could finally breathe and do what he came to do, slugging his way to a victory by unanimous decision over Jorge Pazos. "That was my moment, my opportunity, my event," Cruz said Friday night after the bout, his mother, Dominga Torres-Rivera, seated beside him. "And I won." Cruz was touched by the support on display at the Kissimmee Civic Center outside Orlando, the latest in a continual outpouring since his announcement two weeks ago that made him the first active male athlete in a major sport to come out. "I was very happy that they respect me. That's what I want -- them to see me as a boxer, as an athlete and as a man in every sense of the word," he said. Source: ESPN
boxing makes sense for the first one to 'come out' .............. it's an individual sport. he didn't have to worry about how his teammates would react or put any unnecessary burdens on them. everyone keeps asking why basketball, hockey, football, baseball, etc. players don't 'come out' and it's because it's NOT the right thing to do. it would be completely selfish and distracting. but for an individual sport like this, why not.
