Gay athlete tells of blackmailer who threatened to out him to teammates - Australia Gay News Network

A gay athlete has come out and told his story about his fear of being outed by a blackmailer to his teammates. Bryson Jones’ story appeared in Outsports and has highlighted how entrenched homophobia still is in college athletics.

Jones said while he was a college student at Mercer University in Georgia, one of his teammates on the college soccer team found out he was gay.

The teammate threatened to reveal his secret if Jones did not replace a backpack which had been stolen from the teammate.

Jones wrote:

‘Upset that his expensive hiking backpack was gone, he threatened to out me to my team if I didn’t pay for it.’

Jones bought the teammate a new backpack however the threat that his teammates could find out he was gay did not disappear.

‘The fear of my teammates finding out I was gay scared the life out of me,’ he writes. ‘I no longer had control over who knew my secret. My biggest insecurity was now in the hands of someone who was willing to use my sexuality against me as blackmail.’

Jones then seriously contemplated suicide but thankfully decided his life was worth living.

Jones remained closeted while still at college, however since then he has come out to friends and said many of them have been supportive.

‘One teammate in particular called me on my drive back to Virginia with so much remorse for ever making me feel uncomfortable or unloved,’ Jones writes.

‘I pulled over and sobbed after that phone call. One of the people I was most fearful of coming out to loved me for me.’

Jones now has a successful career as an openly gay man in college athletics but says homophobia is still an issue in sport.

‘It is by no means easy being gay in today’s society, especially in the world of college athletics,’ he writes.

‘Being black and gay adds another entire level of difficulty, but I’ve been getting through it. … I continually think, “is there a need to hide myself from the world anymore?” ‘I truly don’t think there is.’

Author Rachel Cook