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Former Kentucky Punter Landon Foster comes out

Landon Foster, a former punter at the University of Kentucky, has come out as gay.

In an article for OutSports on Wednesday, Foster explained he was publicly coming out with the hope of potentially helping and inspiring others:

"I am sure I will receive some backlash for writing this, but if there is one person it helps, then it will be worth it. I have been through hell, especially during my college years, trying to come to grips with who I am while also representing my university and football team. I was representing these institutions in a state that garnered national attention for anti-LGBT sentiment just days after I had come out to my parents, weeks before my senior season, and ultimately leading to my departure from the sport that I always envisioned as being a part of my life."

Foster also noted his junior and senior years in college "were filled with constant feelings of anxiety and inferiority" because of a number of high-profile stories on LGBTQ rights around the country, including Michael Sam coming out and Kentucky district clerk Kim Davis refusing to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple.

"For the first time in my life, I didn't know how to feel," he wrote. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do or say. Surely I should take a stand and defend what I believe to be true."

Foster says he eventually found a way to enjoy his various interests without worrying about how he would be perceived:

"I thought it wasn't possible to enjoy both the macho world of sports and the more artistic form of writing. I couldn't be an SEC football player and like photography. I couldn't be masculine and enjoy wine. I couldn't be gay and enter the business world. I was supposed to be listening to Lil' Wayne, not Shawn Mendes.

"But I've learned it is possible to marry all of those likes and identities. They are not mutually exclusive."

The 24-year-old Foster played at Kentucky from 2012 to 2015. He was named to the Freshman All-SEC team in 2012 after averaging 42.9 yards per punt.

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by Anonymousreply 57June 30, 2018 11:32 PM

For one of the most successful Kentucky punters in recent memory, things were never easy internally throughout his career — or entire life — until today.

In a post on SB Nation's Outsports page on Wednesday, former Kentucky punter Landon Foster pushed a previously closed door into his personal life open, announcing that he is openly gay.

In the post, Foster explains that he was in his own "isolate" world at UK, trying to navigate what others defined as perfection for a young man and finding out what it meant for him.

Read more here:

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by Anonymousreply 1June 20, 2018 6:13 PM

What is he doing with his life now? he's not playing football

by Anonymousreply 2June 20, 2018 6:14 PM

He’s a Shawn Mendes fan. Let’s set them up!

by Anonymousreply 3June 20, 2018 6:16 PM

Oh Mary, even I knew he was gay!

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by Anonymousreply 4June 20, 2018 6:17 PM

Hot bro

by Anonymousreply 5June 20, 2018 6:18 PM

He seems like the cheeriest player on the team!

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by Anonymousreply 6June 20, 2018 6:18 PM

r4 r6 that's a face that smells cookies.

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by Anonymousreply 7June 20, 2018 6:24 PM

For the tops.

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by Anonymousreply 8June 20, 2018 6:25 PM

He’s hot in person with a nice six pack. I ran into him on a hiking trail , he was shirtless and with a much shorter butterfaced asian guy hmmmm

by Anonymousreply 9June 20, 2018 6:26 PM

Good for him!

by Anonymousreply 10June 20, 2018 6:28 PM

R6, begone with your attempts to project outdated, ignorant stereotypes on this guy!

by Anonymousreply 11June 20, 2018 6:30 PM

Even the gays in Kentucky have dreadful haircuts!

by Anonymousreply 12June 20, 2018 6:38 PM

Yawn! He’s another athlete who didn’t come out until after his athletic career was over. We need more athletes like Kenworthy and Rippon who come out while still active in their sport.

by Anonymousreply 13June 20, 2018 6:48 PM

R13 like those marys had to even come out..

by Anonymousreply 14June 20, 2018 7:10 PM

College football is amateur, no money or sponsors

by Anonymousreply 15June 20, 2018 7:14 PM

Closet cases are not to be praised.

by Anonymousreply 16June 20, 2018 7:18 PM

He's adorable and young and has his whole life ahead of him. I wish him the very best.

by Anonymousreply 17June 20, 2018 7:20 PM

[quote]He’s a Shawn Mendes fan. Let’s set them up!

How do we know he likes Shawn Mendes?

by Anonymousreply 18June 20, 2018 7:24 PM

He has a picture with Tim Tebow on his Instagram. And a lot of shirtless hiking pics for r9.

by Anonymousreply 19June 20, 2018 8:38 PM

Read OP, R18

by Anonymousreply 20June 20, 2018 8:39 PM

He is so cute 😍😍

by Anonymousreply 21June 20, 2018 8:57 PM

Adorable!

by Anonymousreply 22June 20, 2018 8:59 PM

Cute and sparkly

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by Anonymousreply 23June 20, 2018 9:00 PM

Get it gyrl

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by Anonymousreply 24June 20, 2018 9:01 PM

Does Tim have bleached tips there>?!?!?!?!??!?!

by Anonymousreply 25June 20, 2018 9:02 PM

Welcome to the team!

by Anonymousreply 26June 20, 2018 9:04 PM

Tim looks fug next to this hottie.

by Anonymousreply 27June 20, 2018 9:05 PM

he likes bbc

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by Anonymousreply 28June 20, 2018 9:18 PM

he likes bbcs

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by Anonymousreply 29June 20, 2018 9:20 PM

Tha bitch is ripped.

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by Anonymousreply 30June 20, 2018 9:25 PM

Who doesn’t r28?

by Anonymousreply 31June 20, 2018 9:32 PM

I agree with R13 in that I think it would be a huge net positive to have players (both college and professional) come out while they are still playing, I don’t think we’re going to see it anytime soon.

I’ll add that I don’t think it’s particularly fair to compare closeted players to Rippon and/or Kenworthy. Both of these guys are out in individual sports - there is no team dynamic at play and for anyone who has played team sports, you know how pressurized it is, how much is made of being part of the team, etc. so it winds up being easier to say nothing until you’re done playing.

From my own experience, I played sports in HS and college in the 80’s and very early 90’s. Didn’t know any other gay on the team in HS, in college our mutual gaydar picked each other out, so I was one of two on the team (and we both wound up knowing other gays on other teams and opposing teams in the same boat). We both stayed closeted on the team - he didn’t want to risk his athletic scholarship - because neither of us wanted to be “that guy” and face the abuse we knew would be coming our way as gay players from all angles - teammates, coaches, other students, alum - you’ve no idea how involved all these groups are in college sports.

So while I think having out gay players on teams would be great - especially as role model types - I totally understand why no one wants to be “that guy”. I mean, look how well it turned out for Michael Sam?

by Anonymousreply 32June 20, 2018 9:51 PM

Yay to gays coming out of the closet!

by Anonymousreply 33June 20, 2018 9:55 PM

Same as R32, but in the early 1980's. I was a three sport letterman in high school and only played football in college, at a D1A school. There were five other gay guys on the team, but we were all deeply closeted IN ATHLETIC environments. I was totally out to my family and my close friends, including my roommates from freshman year onward. But, in that era, social networks were in person or on the phone. Nobody ever knew until after the season my senior year. Back then, we played our four years and graduated. My college has sent only a handful of football players to the NFL, so college was the end of our playing careers.

by Anonymousreply 34June 20, 2018 10:03 PM

R32, but basketball and football players have come out in college and high school already. Not many, but enough to cast doubt on the old reasons people like you still give for them staying closeted in 2018. If they came out, why not others?

by Anonymousreply 35June 20, 2018 10:05 PM

With one exception, college football and basketball players do not come out because, despite microscopic chances, they still believe they may have a chance at the NFL or NBA. Coming out in college makes them untouchable in the pros. So they wait.

by Anonymousreply 36June 20, 2018 10:07 PM

There were six openly gay college football players in 2017 alone

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by Anonymousreply 37June 20, 2018 10:37 PM

TEDx talk.

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by Anonymousreply 38June 20, 2018 10:51 PM

6 out ncaa football players means an average of 1 for every 50 schools.

Is that good?

by Anonymousreply 39June 20, 2018 10:56 PM

We’ve had openly bisexual college football players too

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by Anonymousreply 40June 21, 2018 1:39 AM

So stop making excuses from 1998. It’s 2018.5

by Anonymousreply 41June 21, 2018 1:39 AM

Does anyone else do what I do when I see a title like this...

"Please be hot...Please be hot!"

by Anonymousreply 42June 21, 2018 1:43 AM

Oh wow

by Anonymousreply 43June 21, 2018 1:51 AM

R34 - Wow! Very similar! My playing time was ‘84-‘92. I only managed to letter in 2 sports in HS, and played 1 in college at a D1 school on the East And we both wound up on the UWS! lol

Anyway, my question for you is HOW were you able to keep your athletic world and your out/gay world separate in college?

Like I said, I knew the one other gay guy on the team, and we got to know gay guys on other teams, and then guys they knew, etc. but sitting here thinking, I’m not sure any were truly out. Sure, there were some who were in a glass closet type of situation, but out as defined now? Can’t remember one who was.

I do remember one night drinking with my teammate, we both said something about wishing we could keep our football lives separate from the rest of our lives. But we couldn’t - our teammates (or their friends) were in our dorms, our fraternities, our classes; we’d see them at the gym, at parties, at the bars, etc.. I wouldn’t call any of my college football buddies more than that - buddies - Sean (other gay on team) was my closest friend then and now - I did have friends and a life away from sports, but it never was 100% segregated, it couldn’t be for the reasons I gave above.

I am in AWE of you having been able to keep your worlds separate like that R34 - I can’t imagine being able to make it work in college, at least in my case.

R35 - I think R36 addressed your question on why college athletes still aren’t coming out in 2018. But it’s more than pipedreams of a pro career - I think the whole dynamic of the team, to fit in, to be “one of the guys”, not wanting to disappoint your team, your coach-all of that plays into it too.

These schools invest millions in sports and make many millions more off these programs, and you -the gay player- know which side the school would pick. If you want more gay athletes to be comfortable coming out, you need to start changing the minds of the administrators, the coaching staff, and I’d argue the whole of college sports.

R37 - you do realize 6 gay players in the whole of NCAA football is still only .05%? I’d wager there’s a few hundred playing in the closet still.

R41 - these aren’t excuses, they’re facts. If you really think a college team and locker room is a welcoming place for a gay athlete, you’re wrong. You think it should be, well so do I. I know it is better now than when I was playing, but I still think there’s still a long way to go.

R42 - me too lol

by Anonymousreply 44June 21, 2018 4:58 AM

He is hot as fuck

by Anonymousreply 45June 21, 2018 5:09 AM

Why is he hiking with Jack Nicholson, R30?

by Anonymousreply 46June 21, 2018 5:13 AM

R46 that’s his daddy

by Anonymousreply 47June 21, 2018 5:13 AM

How can you be closeted if youre following grindr?

Hot dude tho

by Anonymousreply 48June 21, 2018 5:18 AM

R37 Four of those six are at D2 schools, so, sorry, they don't count.

The other two of them are at D1 (K-State and Arizona). So, I stand corrected, three FBS players (out of the THOUSANDS of D1 players each season) have come out while still playing D1 ball. Great news, indeed! I mean that.

by Anonymousreply 49June 21, 2018 5:20 AM

His Dad has a decent body at R30.

by Anonymousreply 50June 21, 2018 5:30 AM

R44 It helped that sophomore and junior year, I got a double in the athletes' dorm, instead of a quad and I was sleeping with my sophomore/junior roommate. During camp and the season, I had no time for anything except practice, weight room, film, and classes. There was just no time for a life and I didn't need to seek dates since I had a fuckbuddy roommate. Off season, I didn't really hang with teammates except at meetings and the weight room.

For senior year, my roommate/sexual partner decided to move home to save money and commute, so I rented a house off campus with guy friends I had made freshman year. I played the O line and us guys were pretty independent and serious about classes. We did not party. So it was pretty effortless to maintain two, separate lives. It almost collapsed, however, on Halloween night senior year. My housemates threw a big party (huge trashcans filled with jungle juice). It was the night before a day off practice and meetings. I got hammered and met a guy. I was 21 and during the last three weeks of football, I was dealing with my position responsibilities and feelings. Back then, our last game was Saturday before Thanksgiving. It was a home rivalry game. New guy was a sophomore and attended his first football game. We won, and I sprinted into the stands and sought him out for a hug. The season was over, and most of my teammates went uptown to party while I took my sexy sophomore home and had sex for the first time him, my first serious boyfriend. We only lasted another 18 months. He studied abroad his junior year while I was in my first year of grad school. But I remember it fondly. Thanks for prompting my trip down memory lane, smiling while I type this.

by Anonymousreply 51June 21, 2018 5:39 AM

R51 Cute story !!

by Anonymousreply 52June 21, 2018 5:47 AM

His bottom is so average he can do better..

by Anonymousreply 53June 27, 2018 1:54 AM

Who?

by Anonymousreply 54June 27, 2018 5:07 PM

What an odd comment, R54

by Anonymousreply 55June 27, 2018 5:33 PM

R55 What?

by Anonymousreply 56June 30, 2018 10:31 PM

[quote]Does anyone else do what I do when I see a title like this..."Please be hot...Please be hot!"

Yup.

by Anonymousreply 57June 30, 2018 11:32 PM
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