Kevin Maxen, a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, on Thursday became the first male coach working in professional men’s sports in the United States to publicly come out as gay.
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Whoever is the assistant fitness and power instructor with the Florida organization made the announcement on the Outsports site. He said he no longer wanted to lie about his life and personality.
“I want to support people who want to live as they want, but I also want to live and not be afraid of people’s reaction,” said the man who has been dating his boyfriend, Nick, for two and a half years.
This announcement was greeted with great joy by Jaguars owner Shad Khan, who assured that Maxen would be treated the same as since he took office in 2021 by his co-workers.
“Kevin has the Jacksonville Jaguars tattooed on his heart, and he is an important member of our football team and our community,” Khan said in a statement to ESPN. I look forward to seeing Kevin next week at training camp, and hope he comes to work every day of camp and throughout the season feeling confident, free and at peace. I know our players and our staff feel the same way.”
According to Outsports, San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers has also come out of the closet in recent years, as has WNBA coach Curt Miller.