Derrick Gordon made basketball history. But he’s living his best life now
Derrick Gordon says he thinks about coming out "every day."
Mark
Every day, Derrick Gordon thinks about the moment he found his freedom: the intro from his coach, his speech in front of his teammates, his shaking legs. When the basketball standout publicly came out as gay, he asserted his status as the first out active player in NCAA Division 1 men’s hoops.
It was a day that would forever place Gordon in the history books. But at the time, he wasn’t considering his announcement in any sort of broader context.
He just wanted the teasing to stop, and the ability to live his life openly. In the lead-up to his revelation, Gordon remembers talking to NBA player Jason Collins, who publicly came out himself the previous year. Gordon remembers Collins telling him that sharing his orientation could impact his professional ambitions.
But Gordon didn’t care. He saw the personal bliss that Collins was experiencing, and wanted to feel that liberation himself.
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“The ball is gonna stop bouncing at one point,” Gordon tells Queerty. “I would rather be happy and not live a lie.”
Twelve years later, Gordon is still bouncing the ball on the court, and living his truth off of it. The only person to ever play on three different men’s March Madness teams (Western Kentucky, UMass Amherst and Seton Hall), Gordon played two professional seasons in Europe before moving back stateside. He currently plays in the National Gay Basketball Association for a team in L.A., where he resides.
His next basketball milestone will come later this year, when he plays in the annual Gay Games in Valencia, Spain. There, Gordon will celebrate all parts of himself on the biggest gay sports stage.
“That will be my first time in Spain, too!,” he adds.
With a book in the works, Gordon soon plans to tell it all.
“If I could do it all over again, I would,” he says. “Anyone who’s been in the closet or struggled, when you can come out and be yourself, it’s such a weight that’s lifted off your shoulders.”
In between bounces, Queerty recently caught up with Gordon and chatted about his love for the game, place in history and meeting his boyfriend in the least likely of places. Here’s what he had to say…
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QUEERTY: You’ve had quite the career! Looking back, what are you most proud of?
DERRICK GORDON: Coming out is always going to be No. 1 for me. That changed everything. It changed my life and allowed me to be myself, and not worry about what others think of me. I would say the second part is still being the only player to take three different schools to the NCAA Tournament. Nobody has broken that yet. And playing professionally! That’s at the top of my list, because it was something I’ve always wanted to do. Even though it wasn’t the NBA, I still got a chance to do it. I still talk to people about it. I still miss it, playing professionally. If I was to get that opportunity to go back right now, I would. I still play. I play in the [National Gay Basketball League]. I’m playing in my first Gay Olympics this year in Valencia, Spain. I’m super excited about it. That will be my first time in Spain, too!
Your coming out was such a pivotal moment–I remember reading about it in class at [Boston University], not too far from you at UMass. Do you have any memorable interactions from that time?
When Jason Collins came out, I remember I was watching a game of his. They announced him checking into the game, and I remember everyone in the arena started clapping. I saw that. I was still in the closet, but I was like, “I want that to be me. I want people to give me that standing ovation.” That was kind of like a click in my mind. Nobody else is about to do what I did, come out while they’e still playing in college. I wanted to come out while I was still actively playing. I feel like that’s more of an impact. When I talked to Jason, he said, “Just so you know, this could affect your chances of making it to the NBA.” I told him, “You know what, Jason?” At that point I was getting teased by my teammates so much. I said, “I don’t even care. I want to be happy.” The ball is gonna stop bouncing at one point. I would rather be happy and not live a lie. I had a girlfriend at the time. I didn’t want to be that guy: have a girlfriend, get married, have kids. Then I’d be really stuck. I know a lot of guys who are like that. I wanted to be able to enjoy the youth of being gay in my younger 20s. Jason was the lightbulb that went off. I knew I had to.
What’s one thing about being a pro basketball player that people don’t know about?
The grind of it all. Especially in Germany, it was one game a week. It was either a Friday or Saturday or Sunday. So if we’re not doing that, we’re practicing. You have to find time to lift on your own. Making sure you’re getting treatment and massages and everything. Just making sure you’re focused on a schedule. Not only playing games, but taking care of your body. Eating the right way. But I love that. I really do.
What’s something you learned about yourself living overseas?
I’m a bit of a picky eater. So I would say being open to trying things! I can stick to my chicken, salmon, eggs, stuff like that. I was eating a lot of pasta in Germany—a lot of it! When I got back to the States during the offseason, I didn’t touch pasta for a while. It’s just being more open to trying things. And stay in the moment. When I think back on it now, there are so many moments where I was focusing on the wrong things, rather than being grateful for where I was. Not everyone has the opportunity to play professional basketball. Embracing the moment, that’s what I do today. I stay in the moment without thinking about next week or next month. There are times when I think about Europe or Germany, I enjoyed that. There were times when I was like, “Why are we practicing twice per day?” Now I think about it, and I’m like, “Damn, I actually miss that.”
You and your boyfriend Scott recently celebrated your four-year anniversary! How did you guys meet?
We met in October 2022. I was getting my booster shot at CVS. I had no intentions: the new Call of Duty was out and I was gonna get my booster shot and come back home and play the game. There were only two other people in that whole CVS. He was in front of me, and I was checking him out from the back and everything. I was like, “I hope he’s handsome when he turns around!” As soon as he turns, we lock eyes. He couldn’t see my facial expression, because I had a mask on, but I was smiling from ear-to-ear. He came up to me and was like, “You from New Jersey?” I have a New Jersey Devils tattoo. He was like, “I’m from New Jersey as well.” We started talking. When I got to the counter, I realized I didn’t have his number or anything. I didn’t want to go off, “Oh, maybe I’ll run into him again.” No! I was like, “Excuse me, give me one second.” He was slowly going around the aisle. I went back to him and we exchanged numbers. Our first date was at Runyon Canyon, we did a hike, had our first kiss at the top. I’ve never had a “love at first sight” moment until I met Scott. We’ve clicked ever since. Out of all places, at the CVS getting a booster shot!
What do you do for fun?
Hanging with the boyfriend—that’s a given! Scott is No. 1, I love playing video games. I’m a big nerd when it comes to that. I have friend who was in basketball operations when I was at UMass. To this day, we’ll still play Call of Duty together. I love hiking, going to the movies. But I’m very low-key. I can be a homebody!
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