Byron Perkins becomes first out football player at HBCU and joins this incredible roster of Team LGBTQ

Photo: Instagram

In an Instagram story, the 6’3″ junior wrote: “I have come to understand that life is precious and I could be gone at any moment, therefore, I will no longer be living a lie. No one should have to live a life crippled by what society thinks.”

Related: Meet the gay high school football player who painted his town with pride

“I’ve decided that I’m going to make a change, and stop running away from myself,” he continued. “I’m gay, 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. Simply put, I am who I am.”

 

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A post shared by Byron Perkins (@byron.perkinz)

In an interview with OutSports, Perkins explained he’d reached a particularly low moment a month ago, and came to the realization that living inauthentically was holding him back.

“I’ve been self-reflective and trying to prioritize what makes me happy and makes me feel alive,” he said. “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.”

He also shared that while his…

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