Basketball player explains why he came out after being raped
The sports star also discussed his battle with depression and near fatal suicide attempt.
Nathan Fort says he decided to come out after surviving a suicide attempt and overcoming a sexual assault.
The college basketball player admitted that before coming to terms with his sexuality, he had been homophobic and “hated” LGBT people.
He even said that “gays had no meaning in the world”, however he says he knew deep down that he was only trying to hide his true feelings.
After struggling to suppress his true feelings, Fort considered taking his own life by jumping from a cliff. In a cruel twist, as he walked away from the cliff’s edge, he slipped and fell.
Despite his near death experience, Fort says he felt stronger and brave enough to go his first gay date.
However, the meet up did not go as planned, after events took a sinister turn.
“We left the club together, my heart beating fast, excited and nervous about what the night might hold,” Fort wrote in Outsports.
“He drove and we talked. It seemed like this was going to be my perfect first time with a guy.
“It wasn’t. He wrestled me out of the car. He sexually abused me. He drugged me. He raped me.
“He changed my life. It’s a struggle to just write a few lines about it, but it’s part of who I am now.”
“It’s important to me to share this now because I know many other guys have been in similar situations,” he explained.
The sports star says the incident “forced back into the closet” and it took him a full year to come to terms with what had happened.
Despite the traumas he had experienced, Fort says he eventually gained the courage to come out to his fellow teammates, friends and family.
He says he is sharing his story to encourage others who might be struggling to come to terms with their own sexuality.
“Don’t waste your life being depressed like I did, to the point where that depression almost takes away your life.
“Don’t let anybody hold you back for what you want to do in life, because it’s your life, not theirs.”
