Pride Pioneer: Gay pro athlete rewatching his coming out video will give you all the feels
Two years ago, Isaac Humphries became only the sixth active men’s pro basketball player to come out publicly as gay. The post Pride Pioneer: Gay pro athlete rewatching his coming out video will give you all the feels appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Memories have been stirring for Australian basketball star Isaac Humphries, who made a global impact in November 2022 when he told his teammates — and the world — that he is gay.
Humphries’ emotional speech to his fellow Melbourne United players was filmed by the NBL club’s media team with his permission and posted to social media, shortly before he took to the court for the season opener.
Along with an op-ed for CNN, it made him only the sixth man in the sport to be out as gay while playing professionally.
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In fact, barely any active pro athlete in men’s team sports has come out since — a quick Outsports check suggests only Anderson Comas (baseball) and Jakub Jankto (soccer) have done so, both in 2023.
The Humphries video quickly went viral, winning him widespread additional support to go with the applause and hugs of his then teammates.
That response showed “yet again how the level of homophobia in sports is simply not remotely what we’ve been told it is,” wrote Cyd Zeigler at the time.
Humphries, who had a spell in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks in 2019, is now playing for the Adelaide 36ers.
He recently took time out to watch the big moment back for a new Instagram reel, adding a commentary. “I want to give myself a hug!” he says, towards the end of what proves to be an uplifting and illuminating seven minutes.
The 26-year-old, who is nearly 7 feet tall, is a likable narrator — the classic gentle giant — and he looks kindly upon his “nervous” younger self. He admits his legs were shaking as he started to open up with his teammates.
He’s also able to smile now at the rather melancholy music that was selected as the score, which was nevertheless appropriate.
In his commentary, he reveals that he had already told his teammate Chris Goulding and assistant coach Justin Schueller and looked to make eye contact with them as he was speaking.
That helped to give him the strength not to burst into tears. “It was getting intense and I could feel myself going a little bit, like I was about to cry,” says Humphries.
He also explains that the film had to be edited down, with some of what was cut being an explanation of how time spent in Los Angeles focusing on self-improvement rather than the pressures of being a pro athlete helped him develop his confidence.
“I went off to discover myself and left basketball,” he says. “I was injured so I was given this weird universe opportunity to go and rehab and find myself.
“I found this community full of joy and happiness and it’s the first time I’d ever been around anything gay that was positive. I started to see it in a whole different life. It was really cool to be a part of.”
Isaac Humphries: ‘My life’s thriving.’
Humphries recently discussed his offseason in L.A. in more detail in a vodcast for his old club, Melbourne United.
“It was like five months or something. I got to do Prides, go to gay bars, and date — I’d never done any of that before,” he tells AFLW player Lily Mithen on her “Lil Life Chats” show.
In the chat with Mithen, he also shares what he was told by one of his first dates. “As gays who come out later in life, when you’re in your 20s, you’re essentially going through your teens.
“When you’re in your 30s, you’re essentially going through your 20s — and it’s sort of like a decade behind.
“I started thinking, yeah… I never got the awkward first kiss, the awkward first date, asking to the formal. I never did any of that.
“He was like, it’s OK — you’re learning. You’re in your teens right now, you’re going through your awkward phase, and that’s fine.
“I thought, ‘that’s a really fascinating and great way to put it’ and it has stayed with me for a long time.”
So far in 2024/25, the center has helped his team into fourth place in the standings after 11 games, and he is among the league leaders in blocks.
He’s been modeling for Ralph Lauren while also advocating for men’s mental health and performing his own music, including at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. At the end of last month, he released the rousing piano ballad “Need Someone” on Spotify.
In his Instagram lookback, Humphries explains why coming out publicly was so important.
“The purpose was to help others and I discovered that I can be this person that paves a way,” he says.
“So far no one else has come out [in men’s pro basketball], but I just hope that people who are living silently in the closet and all that stuff are feeling a little bit more comfortable, knowing that someone has done it and that I’m fine and my life’s thriving.
“I’ve become closer with my teammates and it’s something we talk about very openly and freely. It’s a really cool environment to be in.”
While Humphries is honest about wanting to “make the world a better place,” he’s not carrying the weight of it on his shoulders any more.
“I’m still learning,” he says with a broad grin — and with a nod back to what his date told him over a drink in an L.A. gay bar, he adds: “I’m effectively two years old, as of today.”
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The post Pride Pioneer: Gay pro athlete rewatching his coming out video will give you all the feels appeared first on Outsports.
