19-year-old luger, John Fennell has come out as gay in an interview after ‘suffocating’ game of hiding his sexuality.
John Fennell, 19, joins an ever-growing number of sportsmen who are coming out of the closet. The Canadian luger spoke about his sexuality in an interview with the Calgary Herald, saying, ‘You have to play this game of, ‘Who knows?’ You can’t let off any vibes or secrets. You have to act super macho. You have to be hyper-aware of your mannerisms and to not let off any vibes that could get detected. It’s very exhausting.’
He recently participated in the Sochi Winter Olympics, but didn’t see his position as strong springboard for political gain and was distraught over the lack of LGBT keadership saying,
“I’m an athlete, Realistically, I put on a spandex suit and slide down a mountain. I’m no message board for political movements. But we need to have leaders in our sport community.
“If it takes a 19-year-old to step up and to that, I’m more than willing to use my voice or the platform that I’ve been given to give a figurehead to gay youth in sport.”
