Boxer Orlando Cruz: 'I am a Proud Gay Man'

Featherweight contender Orlando Cruz is gay.

I wrote a different, more traditional introduction to this post, but why bury the lede?

Yesterday, BoxingScene published a statement from the former Olympian from San Juan, Puerto Rico, who decided to reveal this aspect of his life in part to inspire children who are the victims of bullying.

“I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”[[MORE]]

The Guardian published the remainder of Cruz’ statement an hour ago:

“I want people to look at me for the human being that I am. I am a professional sportsman [who] always brings his best to the ring. I want for people to continue to see me for my boxing skills, my character, my sportsmanship. But I also want kids who suffer from bullying to know that you can be whoever you want to be in life, including a professional boxer. That anything is possible and that who you are or whom you love should not be an impediment to achieving anything in life.”

By coming out, Cruz has claimed a place for himself in boxing history: he is the first openly gay pugilist to reveal this aspect of his life while actively fighting. In the hyper-macho and less-than-evolved world of professional sports, athletes rarely exit the closet. When they do, they leave it after they’ve retired.

The 24-year-old Cruz is far from the end of his career. His next fight is on October 19 in Kissimmee, Fla., when he will face Mexican Jorge Pazos in hopes of earning a title shot. That makes him the most prominent openly gay male athlete in North America, by our count.

No one seems to know why Cruz chose to make this announcement now, but when the brave boxer sits down with Telemundo for an exclusive interview next week, perhaps we will learn more. One thing is certain: with this courageous public declaration, Cruz has outed himself to the boxing world– and earned quite a bit of fame and admiration from both fans of the Sweet Science and those who are ignorant of it.

Whether he ever wins a world title is in some ways academic. Cruz will now be remembered as a boxer whose greatest act of courage took place outside of the ring.