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Kevin Maxen, an associate strength coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has made history by becoming the first male coach in a major American men’s sport to come out as gay.
Maxen came out in an interview with the SBNation site OutSports – detailing that he has been in a relationship with his boyfriend, Nick, for about two-and-a-half years.
‘I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore,’ Maxen told Outsports. ‘I don’t want 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.’
It’s believed that Maxen is the first coach in the four major American sports leagues – the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL – to come out publicly.
Kevin Maxen, an associate strength coach with the Jaguars, has come out as gay
‘It wasn’t until recently – and with the immense love and support of my family, my friends, colleagues and peers, and the courage and sacrifice from my partner – that I realized I have the right and responsibility to love and be loved, and that maybe sharing this will hopefully give someone else the strength to accept their own life and take control of their own story,’ Maxen said.
Prior to his role at the Jaguars, he was a strength coach with the football teams at Baylor and Vanderbilt. Before then, he interned at Army and Iowa.
Maxen played linebacker at Division-III Western Connecticut State – where he earned first-team defensive honors in his senior year and was a captain for three seasons.
He told Outsports that during his time in college, he questioned his sexuality. But now in the NFL, he’s hopeful anticipating the reactions of the players he works with.
‘I have a pretty good sense of humor,’ he said. ‘So a lot of the guys I can joke with and not take anything personally.’
Maxen says he felt pushed to come out now after being around others in the Jaguars organization who spoke about their families and partners at team events and functions.
‘You have other coaches who have significant others, and they’re talking about their significant others,’ Maxen said. ‘And I felt guilty that I couldn’t do the same thing, that I was letting myself down.
‘I want the person I’m with to be able to share that with me.’
Maxen says that he’s been with his partner, Nick, for at least two-and-a-half years
He added, ‘For a while I had such an anger for myself and hatred that I thought was from a fear of what others might think about who I am.
‘But that wasn’t it. It was an anger and hatred of myself because I put myself in a life where I was living by other people’s rules and not by my own.
‘And I was right to be angry at myself for thinking that I had to live in the image of anyone else.’
When he felt that he wanted to come out, he reached out to Carl Nassib – the first active NFL player to come out as gay – for advice, which led him to Outsports.
Within the team he works for, a number of colleagues have supported him in his coming out and sharing who he is.
‘In an environment that is diversifying, it is a privilege to work alongside Kevin who is hardworking, dedicated and thriving as a strength and conditioning coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars,’ said ex-NFL tight end and Jaguars Director of Player Development Marcus Pollard.
Maxen says he was pushed to come out after feeling like ‘I was living by other people’s rules and not by my own’
Now-retired NFL center Brandon Linder said, ‘Kevin was a big part in helping me prepare every Sunday during my last year in the NFL.
‘He would write workouts for me with exercises that would help with my deficiencies, which helped me be the best version of myself on that field.
‘Our friendship grew with the time spent working together and us sharing a lot of similarities on our views of life, being someone that just gets it. He understands what life is truly all about. That’s why I gravitated towards him.
‘It was truly an honor and extremely humbling when I was one of the first people Kevin confided to about his sexuality. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been, not knowing what my reaction would be. I remember the day he told me I was so elated for him to get that off his chest.’
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