Gymnast Danell Leyva, who represented Team USA at two Olympic Games, came out to his 52,000+ followers on Twitter earlier this month on National Coming Out Day.
“For a long time I’ve known that I wasn’t straight,” began the 28-year-old Cuban-American. “But because of certain very personal reasons, I always rejected that side of me.”
Leyva added, “Earlier this year I finally understood that I’m bi/pan (still trying to figure that one out) but I also realized that, as of now at least, I’m not attracted to cis men.”
A thread for #NationalComingOutDay
For a long time I’ve known that I wasn’t straight. But because of certain very personal reasons, I always rejected that side of me. Earlier this year I finally understood that I’m bi/pan (still trying to figure that one out) but…
— Danell Johan Leyva (@DanellJLeyva) October 11, 2020
One of the main reasons why I’ve never come out publicly is because throughout my life, for whatever reason, other people’s perception of my own sexuality have always been imposed onto me and it has always made me reject it even more. It made me uncomfortable. Not because…
— Danell Johan Leyva (@DanellJLeyva) October 11, 2020
A reminder to check the way we say certain things to people. Because sometimes our hearts and intentions may be in the right place, but we never truly know what they’re dealing with.
I love you all
Happy #NationalComingOutDay— Danell Johan Leyva (@DanellJLeyva) October 11, 2020
Speaking to Olympic Channel, Leyva shared that stereotypes about men in his sport, plus his own determination to not give homophobes “the satisfaction of being right,” slowed his coming out process in some respects.
“[The stereotypes were] such a big factor in it, just not giving those people the satisfaction of being right because it doesn’t come from a good place,” said Leyva. “It wasn’t somebody that was trying to help us understand [our sexuality]. It was just somebody pointing at us and that doesn’t feel good.”
The Olympic champion also noted that, as he was growing up, he would “always somewhat reject” his sexuality. “And especially coming from Hispanic family, it’s very much rejected,” he added.
Leyva says he had been thinking about coming out for a while and almost shared the news this past June during Pride Month. But with Black Lives Matter protests happening across the nation in the aftermath of George Floyd’s homicide, he reconsidered.
“I was like, ‘No, I’m not really that important,’” said Leyva. “And so I decided to just kind of forget about it, and I did forget about it.”
Until, that is, until this year’s National Coming Out Day and those five empowering tweets.
Since sharing his authentic self with the world, Leyva says the response he’s received has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive.
Among the many who have sent messages of support were fellow Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and out figure skater Adam Rippon.
We love and stan you, king!!! 🙆🏼♂️❤️
— Adam Rippon (@AdamRippon) October 11, 2020
🤍 You are so loved!!! So grateful to have you in my life.
— Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) October 12, 2020
Also comforting to the 2011 World parallel bars champion were messages giving him space to not worry about this label or that label.
“In the post, I said that I’m still trying to figure out between whether I’m a bi or pan. It was nice to have people be like, ‘You don’t have to label it. You don’t have to just be ‘a thing’. It’s an ever-changing fluid thing, so you don’t have to worry about that,’” explained the world-class athlete. “That was nice because that was certainly reassuring.”
“You know, it’s such a non-issue,” he continued. “It literally means nothing that if you’re just like, ‘Oh, you’re left handed? That’s cool. Oh, you’re bi? That’s cool.’ Like, it’s really nothing.”
“Everybody’s different, you know?” said Leyva before adding, “And at the same time, we’re not.”
Leyva hopes that his coming out might offer some inspiration to those considering coming out themselves. “If I get help one person be brave enough to live in their truth, then I feel like that that was the entire point of that post.”
Congratulations Danell. Happy #NationalComingOutDay. Incredible for you to share something so personal. Don’t be so terrified, it gets easier. Really happy for you. You just have to be yourself & people who matter will still love you. Sending u socially distanced hugs ❤ 🏳️🌈 🌈
— Jp 🌈 xxx🧍🏻♂️xxx 🧍🏿♂️xxx (@whiddy2004) October 11, 2020
Glad you feel comfortable enough to share, and like other mentioned, don’t bother with exact labels. Feel free to explore and change your mind at any point, the only person you have an obligation to I that regard is yourself. 🏳️🌈
— m e (@Tooltop) October 11, 2020
You are who you are and you don’t have to label yourself or others. Just live, love and laugh.
— Robin Layton (@Redbirdnest) October 11, 2020
