March Madness will have an openly gay man playing for the first time ever

By Jack Mirkinson  |  March 13, 2016 | 8:29pm
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On Saturday, the Seton Hall men’s basketball team won a surprising victory over Villanova and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness. That win put Seton Hall in the history books, because one of its players is Derrick Gordon, and Gordon is now the first openly gay man ever to play in college basketball’s biggest tournament.

Gordon came out in 2014, when he was at the University of Massachusetts. “I just didn’t want to hide anymore, in any way,” he told ESPN at the time. “I didn’t want to have to lie or sneak. I’ve been waiting and watching for the last few months, wondering when a Division I player would come out, and finally I just said, ‘Why not me?'”

Gordon later transferred to Seton Hall, where he’s a guard. According to USA Today, he remains the only openly gay player in Division I men’s basketball. He chose to focus on other things, however, when he celebrated his team’s victory on Twitter.

 
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