Chris Burns Becomes First Openly Gay D-I Male Basketball Coach

"When the time comes to share your true self, you will feel so much love and relief and hope and freedom."
Bryant Athletics

Chris Burns, an assistant basketball coach at Bryant University, became the first openly gay Division I men's basketball coach in NCAA history on Monday when he published a personal essay on OutSports about his decision to come out.

In the essay, Burns speaks about how he felt the need to hide his sexuality during his playing career in both high school and college.

"I kept my head down and focused on my identity as a good hoops player to keep attention away from my secret identity as a gay kid growing up in rural New Hampshire," Burns writes in the essay.

But as he got older, Burns discusses how constantly lying about his sexuality was starting to take a toll on him. "When you're lying to everyone about who you are at your core, lying about everything else gets easy," the Bryant University coach admits. "Those habits and behaviors were very toxic for every aspect of my life."

After finally building up the courage to tell people about his sexuality, Burns says people have been very welcoming, realizing that his "fears are far worse than reality."

He concludes his essay with a strong message of encouragement for others who might be struggling to completely reveal a major part of their identity.

"But always know this: When the time comes to share your true self, you will feel so much love and relief and hope and freedom," Burns says.

Burns' decision to come out as the first openly gay coach comes roughly a year and a half after then-University of Massachusetts guard Derrick Gordon became the first openly gay player in D-I men's basketball. Gordon transferred to Seton Hall in May, but said he faced discrimination from other schools during the transferring process.

Before his time at Bryant, Burns spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Rhode Island College, a D-III school. 2015-2016 will be Burns' third season as an assistant coach of the Bulldogs, according to the university website.

Bryant University's mens basketball team opens the season on Nov. 14 against Duke.

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