A post shared by Solomon Bates (@solomonbates)Solomon Bates then concluded his post, saying: “Gay men can play a manly sport if you give us a chance to.
Thank you, Giants, you guys made a new fan. But gave me a chip to keep going. I love all the new friends that I’ve made. I’m not going to cry.
I’m going to keep pushing.”Messages like the one shared by Bates are still so important in the male sports field, given that it is still an environment infused with homophobia that too often forces LGBTQ+ athletes to quit or to remain closeted while playing.After his Instagram post, Bates revealed that he had been out to his teammates since 2019 in an interview with OutSports.
The athlete also opened up about dropping hints about his sexual orientation on social media, like when he included a rainbow flag emoji in an Instagram post.A post shared by Solomon Bates (@solomonbates)“I hadn’t really said it because I want to be seen as how I handle things professionally.