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NCAA Champion Swimmer Abrahm DeVine Comes Out as Gay
“Growing up gay in any sport is definitely tough. There’s a culture that is created in a lot of sports where being gay is an insult."
Diving directly into the record books, Standford student Abrahm DeVine quickly made a name for himself in the NCAA swimming world. As a freshman, he qualified for the 400 individual medley and in March of this year, he became the 2018 400 IM champion by more than three seconds.
But despite his success, he still felt he had one more obstacle to overcome. According to Swimming World Magazine, DeVine "found himself questioning whether he even belonged in college athletics or on his team at Stanford."
Devine was hiding a secret from his peers.
"I’m a gay athlete. There aren’t too many of us, so when I came out to my college team, that was a really tough time for me," DeVine explained.
"Growing up gay in any sport is definitely tough," he went on. "There’s a culture that is created in a lot of sports where being gay is an insult. It’s something that gets tossed around and makes you not want to go to practice or not want to hang out with the team or be a part of the team."
Luckily, his team was super supportive, and many of his teammates were actually more upset that he'd been so torn up about sharing his sexuality with them.
"I remember that being a pretty emotional time, and just feeling my whole team wrap around me and feeling that love in a place where I hadn’t really felt it, that was definitely pretty special for me," DeVine said. "Just seeing them kind of prove me wrong was definitely special, something I’ll never forget."
What's next for DeVine? He's headed into his senior year at Stanford and even eyeing the 2020 Olympics. Hopefully, after coming out, he has a little less weighing him down and that agility will show in the pool!
Welcome to the family Abrahm!
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Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
