Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy comes out in ESPN Magazine cover story

ESPN cover featuring Gus Kenworthy.
(Image credit: Gus Kenworthy/Twitter)

Now that Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy has neared his goal of becoming the world's best freeskier, he's making good on a promise to himself: "Tell everyone the truth." And in the cover story in latest issue of ESPN Magazine, Kenworthy delivers: "I guess I should start by saying, 'I'm gay.'"

See more

Throwing himself into skiing, he admits, may have been a way to grapple with his sexuality.

For him, being the best was a form of atonement. Kenworthy knew he was gay as early as 5 years old and felt different from other boys. With his brothers, he shared a love for skiing and hockey, but their similarities seemed to end there. "I was insecure and ashamed," he says. "Unless you're gay, being gay has never been looked at as being cool. And I wanted to be cool." [ESPN]

In the action sports world, Kenworthy says, image is everything. ESPN reports that Kenworthy "takes in around 80 percent of his $500,000 to $1 million a year from sponsorships, which are based as much on image as they are contest wins." "The industry isn't the most embracing of someone who's different," Kenworthy said. "
I'm nervous about that."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Read the full story at ESPN.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.