Isaac Humphries Former Wildcat Isaac Humphries sings the National Anthem before the game.December 28, 2019 Catscardsmsc10
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Former Kentucky basketball player Isaac Humphries delivered an important and heartfelt announcement to his Australian pro basketball team and shared it with the rest of the world on Tuesday.

The Australian player, who was with the Wildcats from 2015 to 2017 and now plays for the NBL’s Melbourne United. Tuesday, posted a video of a special meeting he held in the locker room with his coaches and teammates in which he announced that he is gay while also discussing many of the hardships that came with keeping that a secret for so long.

“I decided that if I’m going to join a team, I’m going to come out publicly and just make sure people know that you can live and you don’t have to hide just because you’re an athlete,” said Humphries.

Humphries shared that he hopes by declaring his sexuality publicly will help others who are dealing with the anxiety around it.

“That’s my goal behind this,” he added. “Make sure people know that you can be whatever you want no matter who you are or what you do. You can be ‘Big Ice’ and be gay and you can still be a great basketball player and be gay. You can do whatever you want. It has nothing to do with your sexuality or who you are or who you’re meant to be.”

There were a lot of strong reactions to the video and to Humphries’ speech on Twitter afterward.

[Isaac Humphries]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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