It’s rare that Bryant University makes national headlines for anything related to sports. But the school is making them today as a result of Bryant assistant coach Chris Burns’ brave decision to come out as the first openly gay college basketball coach in the nation.
Burns decided to come out over the summer after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages. However, the third-year coach—who played at Bryant from 2003 through 2007—didn’t actually do it until yesterday when he wrote a personal essay that was published on Outsports.com. He also released a statement through Bryant:
Telling my story was not a decision I made lightly, and it was not made without consideration of how it would affect those around me. I am thankful for the support system I have had and for how it has grown over the recent weeks and days. It has been a long journey to get to the place I am today, and I hope by doing this, I can help ease the pain and conflict so many others are going through, often in silence.
Burns says that he has already received support from many of his friends, family, and colleagues. And his most famous supporter is legendary college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, who spoke to USA Today about Burns’ decision to come out.
“It takes a lot of courage to do what he’s doing and I surely applaud him for it,” Coach K said. “My message to him is, first off, congratulations, I’m very proud of you. Next, please know you’re accepted by your brothers in the sport of men’s basketball. You’re included now in a very strong way. I think this will be something coaches in our sport will love.”
You can read Burns' entire essay here.
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