While most major American sports leagues are waiting to see their first openly gay active player, the world of professional wrestling made history on Thursday when WWE superstar Darren Young unexpectedly came out of the closet. His revelation quickly earned the support of some of the sport's other biggest stars.
The surprise reveal happened casually as Young was walking through Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday and was asked by TMZ if he thought a gay wrestler could ever make it in the WWE.
"Absolutely," he said. "Look at me. I'm a WWE superstar and to be honest with you, I'll tell you right now, I'm gay. And I'm happy. I'm very happy." The disclosure makes Young the first major wrestler to come out while still actively signed to a major league.
One of Young's fellow star colleagues, John Cena, said he fully supported the grappler, telling TMZ, "Oh wonderful ... I know Darren personally. Darren's a great guy. That's a very bold move for him. And congratulations for him for finally doing it." Cena added that the news hit close to home for him, because he has a gay brother and he knows the difficulty of coming out.
"For us, it's entertainment," Cena said. "And if you're entertaining you shouldn't be judged by race, creed, color or sexuality ... as long as you're entertaining."
Another wrestling star, Triple H, tweeted about the news, writing, "Congratulations, @DarrenYoungWWE for living YOUR life, YOUR way. #proud." As did Titus O'Neil, who said, "I'm VERY PROUD OF @DarrenYoungWWE. He's been ...
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