Mitch Eby, College Football Defensive End, Comes Out Gay

Mitch Eby, a junior defensive end on the Chapman University football team, came out gay to teammates in a moving speech.

Eby's coming out story was chronicled in an Outsports.com feature published Monday.

Eby first approached head coach Bob Owens.

“He thought it wouldn't be a big deal at all to my teammates,” Eby said. “He thought they'd say 'okay' and move on. It wasn't a big deal to him whether I told the team or not, but he just said if I wanted to do it, I should do it for myself.”

With his coach's approval, Eby addressed the entire team on March 18.

“I came up here today to talk to you guys about something that I've been dealing with for quite a while. It's something personal that I've always thought I could just bury away, but I can't,” Eby told his teammates. “We live life so worried about how other people view us that we forget about ourselves. I can no longer go on living in fear, repressing myself because of how society may view me. I can no longer lie to my friends, family and teammates. It's time I lived life for myself for a change.”

“With that being said, I am ready to share with you all that I am gay.”

“It has taken me years to accept myself for who I truly am, so it's irrational to expect everybody to unconditionally accept me right away. However, the one thing that I hope that I can count on from each of you, my teammates, is your respect. Your respect as a friend, your respect as a teammate, and your respect as a man.”

"Being gay may be something that defines me, but it does not limit me. It is such a small part of who I am. I am the same person you all know, no different than before. I'm still the kid that is obsessed with pretty much anything having to do with sports, I'm still the kid that some of you love to call stupid nicknames like ‘mom' and ‘hot dog,' and I'm still someone who will continue to go out there every day and push myself and push my teammates to be the best football team around. I am your teammate, I am your classmate and I am your brother. And I know that my brothers will continue to stand by my side, no matter what.”

Eby said response has been overwhelmingly positive.