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Kevin Maxen, an associate force coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has become the first male coach in a major U.S.-based professional league to come out as gay.

Maxen spoke about his sexual orientation in an interview published Thursday by Outsports.

"I don't crave to feel like I have to think about it anymore," Maxen said. "I don't want to feel like I contain to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else.

"I desire to be vocal in support of people living how they want to live, but I also want to just reside and not feel worry about how people will react."

While Maxen's announcement is a first for a male coach, NFL players have come out previously. Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. Louis Rams selected him in 2014. In 2021, Carl Nassib, then with the Las Vegas Raiders, became the first active NFL player to come out publicly. Nassib played for Tampa Bay last season.

A not many female coaches in U.S.-based leagues have come out publicly, including Katie Sowers, a former assistant with the San Francisco 49ers.

Maxen said he no longer felt comfortable hiding his sexuality or his partner of two years.

"You contain other

Jacksonville Jaguars Kevin Maxen becomes 1st male pro sports coach to come out in US

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ assistant strength and conditioning coach, Kevin Maxen, has made history by becoming the first male coach in professional sports in the United States to publicly come out as gay in an exclusive interview with Outsports.com.

“I don’t want to feel fond of I have to ponder about it anymore,” Maxen told Outsports in the interview. “I don’t yearn to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else. I want to be vocal in support of people living how they want to live, but I also want to just live and not feel fear about how people will react.”

Maxen, who has worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars since the 2021 season, previously worked as a strength coach at Baylor and Vanderbilt as well as an intern at Iowa and Army, according to ESPN.

The owner of the Jaguars, Shad Khan released a statement in support of Maxen to ESPN on Thursday, calling Maxen “a key member of our football team and community.”

"Kevin is a Jacksonville Jaguar through and through, and a key member of our football team and community," Khan said in his stateme

Why Coming Out Was So Important for This NFL Strength Coach

Kevin Maxen is an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. He became the first openly gay male coach in any of the major US professional sports when he came out publicly in July 2023. Here, he shares in his own words how he came to that choice, the challenges that enter with being openly homosexual in a sport prefer football, and his hopes for LGBTQ+ people in sports in the future.

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I WAS KIND of on the fence about playing football, honestly. But in high school, a lot of my friends from my hometown were trying out for the team so me and my twin brother decided to, too. That first year of high college football was iffy—I was always more of a baseball fan and player, and there were times I just didn’t yearn to go to habit. But then I had some decent success, and by my junior year the plan was to go to Endicott College to play football.

Two weeks in, I broke my thumb. I couldn’t play. I couldn’t perform anything. On top of that, I was a creative writing major, which made it hard to find any shared interests with the guys on the team. I ended up leaving in November and went back to my hig

News Articles

Saying he no longer wanted “to feel like I have to lie” about who he is, Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength coach Kevin Maxen came out publicly as gay on Thursday.

He is believed to be the first male coach in a major American pro sport to come out.

Maxen said in an interview published on the Outsports website, “It wasn’t until recently — and with the immense adoration and support of my family, my friends, colleagues and peers, and the courage and sacrifice from my loved one — that I realized I possess the right and responsibility to adore and be loved, and that maybe sharing this will hopefully give someone else the energy to accept their own life and take control of their own story.”

Maxen has been with the Jaguars since 2021. He previously was a force coach in the collegiate ranks at Baylor and Vanderbilt, and played linebacker at Division III Western Connecticut State.

He said he struggled to deal with his sexuality in college but has been with his boyfriend for two years and wanted to be fit to introduce him in the alike way that others in the Jaguars organization do with their families.

“I don&#