Yesterday was the start of Pride Month. And to celebrate the start of the month which celebrates the accomplishments of members of the LGBTQ+ community, Byron Perkins the first openly gay football player at a historically Black university, decided to show off his new bae.
Hampton University defensive back Byron Perkins made history by becoming the first football player at an HBCU to come out as gay. Perkins, a redshirt junior from Chicago, made the announcement on his Instagram account story, saying that it was time to “stop running away.”
“I’ve decided that I’m going to make change, and stop running away from myself. I’m gay,” Perkins wrote. “Let it be known that this is not a ‘decision’ or a ‘choice.’ Yes, this is who I am, this is who I’ve been, and this is who I’m going to be.”
In an interview with Outsports, Byron said that before making his announcement, he felt something had been missing from his life. Now, he feels more complete.
“I’ve been self-reflective and trying to prioritize what makes me happy and makes me feel alive,” Perkins told Outsports. “I thought it could be just football and school, but there was a component missing. And recently I’ve been able to figure out that I haven’t been fully happy because everyone didn’t know who I was. Authenticity is everything to me.”
