NEW YORK (AP) – Massachusetts guard Derrick Gordon became a better basketball player and a better teammate this season, and he credits both to having the courage to play as an openly gay man.
Gordon’s first season since coming out likely ended Thursday in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament at Barclays Center.
The junior guard scored seven points and had five rebounds as the Minutemen (17-15), who are still holding out slim hopes for an NIT bid, lost 76-69 to La Salle.
Gordon became the first openly gay player in men’s Division I college basketball when he came out last year, and it changed his life for the better in every way. He said he was unburdened on and off the court.
“All last season, that was something I was always thinking about,” Gordon told The Associated Press. “It was always in the back of my mind. This year, everybody knows. So everywhere we went I didn’t have to worry about it. It was like what you see is what you get. I am who I am.