United States Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy sent a tweet Thursday morning that was simple, direct and life-changing.
Kenworthy came out as gay in an interview with “ESPN The Magazine.” His story is part of ESPN’s ongoing series exploring what it means to be an openly gay athlete in the post-acceptance world.
Kenworthy, who won a silver medal at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, started coming out to his family and closest friends two years ago. They were supportive, according to an ESPN article published Thursday, but he was skeptical of how the action-sports community would react to him being gay.
“They say it’s a community of individuals and everyone is doing their own thing and it’s not a team sport, so you get to be yourself,” Kenworthy told “ESPN The Magazine.” “But you don’t really.
“Everyone wears a Red Bull or Monster or Rockstar cap, a T-shirt and jeans and skate shoes. Everyone drives the same type of car and listens to the same kind of music. The industry isn’t the most embracing of someone who’s different. I’m nervous about that.”
Kenworthy is one of the faces of the X Games. The 24-year-old is sponsored by Nike. Him coming out certainly is newsworthy, but the U.S. Olympian is more focused on continuing his successful ways.
“I want to be the guy who comes out, wins (expletive) and is like, ‘I’m taking names,’ ” Kenworthy told “ESPN The Magazine.”
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@guskenworthy
