Laveranues Coles: Stepping Stone To A Gay Athlete?

Is Laveranues Coles' admission that he was sexually abused by his stepfather the equivalent of a professional athlete coming out of the closet as a gay man? We wouldn't think so, but OutSports' Cyd Zeigler Jr. says they're more similar than you think.

It takes a very big person to talk about something most of society would consider embarrassing - and the hyper-masculine world of professional sports sees anything that might question their masculinity as the most embarrassing of all. ... What Coles has done is nothing short of what it will take for a gay man to come out as gay in the NFL.

Eh, we're still not convinced. We're not even sure Coles deserves — or would even want — to be "saluted" or anything like that. This is something he had carried around with him for a long time, he needed to tell the world so he could make it easier for himself and others and that's it. How it relates to anything else — particularly the notion of a gay athlete coming out — is beyond us.

NFL Wide Receiver Discloses Molestation [OutSports] Coles' Burden Lifted [Newsday]