Víctor Gutiérrez, a member of Spain’s water polo team currently training for the Rio Olympic Games later this year, has come out as gay in an interview with a Spanish magazine.
“I’d been thinking about it for quite some time. I’m out of the closet at home. My family knows I’m gay, my friends too. I’m so comfortable with my sexuality that I felt a responsibility to come out and share it,” he told Shangay Magazine.
“Although I’m coming out, I respect those who choose not to. I have never met anyone who has judged me as an athlete for my sexuality. It has always been based on my performance.”
Víctor said he felt a responsibility to come out because of homophobia he was aware of in his home country.
“This year there have been more than 70 homophobic attacks in Madrid so far. It’s a reality that we live,” he said.
“And there are almost no athletes who say they are gay. But in my experience, people have changed. As an athlete, everything I have experienced is absolutely positive.”
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