Ahead of Minnesota United's Pride Night, midfielder Collin Martin posted on Twitter that he will be publicly announcing that he's gay. In Friday's tweet, Martin said that his friends and family already knew, and thanked his teammates for their support. "Tonight my team, Minnesota United, is having their Pride Night," Martin wrote. "It's an important night for me -- I'll be announcing for the first time publicly that I am an openly gay player in Major League Soccer. I have been out as a gay man for many years to my family and friends, and this includes my teammates." Martin becomes the second openly gay MLS player, with the L.A. Galaxy's Robbie Rogers coming out in 2013. Martin went on to encourage other gay athletes to come out, concluding "June is Pride Month, and I am proud to be playing for Pride, and to be playing as an out gay man." Rogers retired in November, which will make Martin the only openly gay male across the major male sports. In the WNBA, there are several lesbian athletes, including Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury. Martin. 23. has been in the MLS for six seasons. MUFC's jerseys will feature rainbow numbers for pride night when the team squares off against FC Dallas.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>Minnesota United midfielder Collin Martin became the only active openly gay man in American sports on Friday, coming out publicly with a message on Twitter and a very cool photo ahead of his team’s Pride Night game. Advertisement From the note: “I have been out as a gay man for many years to my family and friends, and this includes my teammates. I have played Major League Soccer for 6 seasons: 4 seasons with DC United and 2 seasons with Minnesota United. Today, I’m proud that my entire team and the management of Minnesota United know that I am gay. I have received only kindness and acceptance from everyone in Major League Soccer and that has made the decision to come out publicly that much easier.” Martin, who’s 23 years old, has been with Minnesota since January 2017, and he’s worked his way into an occasional starting role in recent weeks. After Robbie Rogers, who retired last year, he’s the second-ever out active player in MLS history. With queer acceptance in soccer (and all sports) still a major issue around the world, Martin is now the highest-profile active gay male soccer player not just in America, but anywhere.<doc-sep>
Shaun Clark/Getty Images Minnesota United FC midfielder Collin Martin announced Friday that he is gay. In the following tweet, Martin wrote that he will compete as an out player for the first time Friday against FC Dallas on Pride Night: Martin added that he has been out to his family, friends and teammates for many years and that their support made coming out publicly "that much easier." The 23-year-old native of Chevy Chase, Maryland, discussed the meaning of coming out as a pro athlete with Megan Ryan of the Minnesota Star Tribune, saying, "I never thought that was completely important because I thought it'd been done before. But, I mean, you look around, there's still not an out professional athlete in the five major sports in America ... right now. So it's still important." Per Ryan, Martin is the first MLS player to come out as gay since former Los Angeles Galaxy star Robbie Rogers in 2013. He is also the first male athlete to come out in one of North America's five major sports since defensive end Michael Sam did before the St. Louis Rams drafted him in 2014. Martin is in the midst of his sixth MLS season. Video Play Button Videos you might like He was originally signed by DC United in 2013 after playing his college soccer at Wake Forest. Martin was traded to Minnesota United in 2017 and has made 17 appearances with the club over the past two seasons. In six games this season, including three starts, Martin has no goals and one assist. Martin's first game as an out player will kick off Friday at 8 p.m. ET at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.