U.S. men’s Olympics star: ‘I’m here to tell the world today that I am queer’
A three-time Olympian, Erik Shoji was part of the U.S. volleyball team that won bronze at Rio 2016 and Paris 2024. He's now told the world he's also Team LGBTQ. The post U.S. men’s Olympics star: ‘I’m here to tell the world today that I am queer’ appeared first on Outsports.
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The captain of the U.S. men’s national volleyball team has come out publicly as queer.
Erik Shoji shared his personal news via a reel on TikTok and Instagram, quickly receiving a flood of well-wishes. He has a combined following of over 1.6 million on the two platforms.
Considered by many fans of the sport to be the world’s best libero, the 35-year-old has been part of the senior national squad since 2013 and helped the U.S. team win bronze medals at the 2016 and 2024 Olympics, as well as the 2018 World Championship.
In the video, Shoji says: “I’m here to tell the world today that I am queer.
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“It feels scary, but freeing at the same time. I think personal acceptance takes a while. For me, it took a long time and I’m working through that still every day, but I think I’m stronger, more confident and more sure of myself than I’ve ever been.
“And I feel that given who I am and the platform that I have, that this is my moment and I’m so excited to move forward after this.”
@thelibero
Shoji was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. His older brother Kawika was also part of the Rio 2016 team that won bronze, and their father is University of Hawaii women’s coach Dave Shoji.
A three-time Olympian, Erik Shoji attended Stanford University, where he became the first four-time AVCA team All-American and ended his college career with a record total of 1,402 digs.
He has since played professionally in Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia and Poland, where he spent the last four years with club side ZAKSA, winning multiple domestic trophies and Champions League titles in 2022 and 2023. He announced in May that he was leaving ZAKSA.
In a comment on Shoji’s video, USA Volleyball wrote: “Proud of you, Erik. Your courage, authenticity, and leadership on and off the court continues to inspire us all! Thank you for being you. We’re honored to stand with you, always.”
There were also supportive messages posted from the accounts of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and Shoji’s sponsors Mizuno, while fellow national-team player Merrick McHenry — who is gay and was Outsports’ joint Male Athlete of the Year in 2024 — wrote: “Erik! Thank you for being you!”
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Also among those posting congratulatory comments on Shoji’s post were another U.S. teammate, Cody Kessel; his former ZAKSA club colleagues Aleksander Sliwka and Bartosz Kurek, who both won Olympic silver with Poland at Paris 2024; Curt Miller, the out gay GM of WNBA team Dallas Wings; and U.S. gold-medal winners in women’s volleyball from Tokyo 2020, Jordan Larson and Kelsey Robinson.
In his video, Shoji said he is now much more comfortable off the court than was previously the case, and wants that same experience in volleyball.
“Moving forward means feeling completely free and myself, and I think I’ve been that for a couple of years now.
“That feels so good, but I want my life to feel like I have one life and me saying this now today brings a lot of that together.
“And I’m so excited about where life is going to take me and who I am and what I can bring to my family, my team, my friends and around me.
“I hope to be a role model. I’m in a position where it’s almost inevitable. And I think the volleyball community has been so open and accepting of so many different types of people, which is amazing to see.
“I hope they don’t think any differently of me. This is part of who I am, and if they love me before that, they’ll love me after.”
At the Paris Olympics, the only out gay man competing in a traditional team sport was also a volleyball player — Canada’s Justin Lui, who, like Shoji, was a star athlete at Stanford.
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The Shoji brothers are half-Japanese, with their late paternal grandparents having met and then got married at an internment camp before their grandfather went on to fight in the 442nd Infantry Regiment for the U.S. in WW2.
It’s an emotional family story that the brothers have previously shared in interviews with media outlets such as the San Diego Union Tribune.
Now Erik Shoji is letting the world in on his own personal journey. Last month, he was named captain on the long-list roster for the U.S. team in the VNL. Unlike McHenry, he is not with the squad currently competing in Brazil, but is expected to feature in Chicago later this month.
The match against China at Hoffman Estates on June 25 is now set to be Shoji’s first national-team appearance since coming out.
“I’m hoping to be almost the same person moving forward, hopefully better. And I hope to just inspire people to be themselves and to be personable, be kind, be nice and to love life,” he added.
“Part of me hopes that the world keeps spinning, and the volleyball community stays amazing, accepting and growing.
“I feel so good, saying what I’m saying. And I know that I’m genuine in what I’m saying, and I believe in myself, and I believe in others. And I believe that life will keep going, and it’ll be great, and my friends will be there, my family will be there, my team will be there.
“And I’m going to continue to be myself, and I’m so excited for that.”
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The post U.S. men’s Olympics star: ‘I’m here to tell the world today that I am queer’ appeared first on Outsports.
