Gymnast Danell Leyva and Rugby Player Dan Palmer are Latest Pro Athletes to Come Out

He also discussed having always knew that his sexuality was more than just straight. He tried to reject it for a long time, in part due to fears about his family. And he said that he hopes one day a person’s sexuality will be unremarkable.

Leyva has a history of recognizing the struggles of marginalized groups, having stood by women athletes who spoke up about sexual assault in the field.

Also this month, Australian rugby player Dan Palmer wrote an article about coming out. In the piece, he describes feeling anxiety about how his sexuality might impact his career, and that he abused opioids to avoid his problems — but of course, that made things worse. At times, he contemplated his own death.

Ultimately, Palmer writes, he reached out to a friend for help, came out in a written note, and immediately felt a weight lifted. But as he grew more comfortable with himself, he became aware of bigotry within the field, from players like Israel Folau, who posted harsh homophobic remarks online.\

“It sickens me to know that in the year 2020 there are still people torturing themselves the way I was, both in and out of sport,” he Palmer writes. “If this piece can prompt a conversation, make space for people to feel more comfortable being themselves, or can help someone better understand what a loved one may be going through, it will have been a success.”

The organization World Rugby continues to struggle with organizational bigotry, earlier this month banning openly trans women from playing alongside other women. That’s drawn intense criticism of the organization, with thousands of fans signing a petition accusing the group of unqualified transphobic doctors in implementing the ban.

World Rugby has said that they might revisit the decision in the future.

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