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"&lt;img alt=\"Derrick Gordon Gay\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2014/04/09/0409-derrick-gordon-getty-4.jpg\" /&gt;UMass basketball player &lt;strong&gt;Derrick Gordon&lt;/strong&gt; has announced he's gay -- making him the first openly gay basketball player in Division 1 men's college basketball.&amp;#160;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Gordon -- a sophomore starter for UMass -- made the announcement during an interview with ESPN.&amp;#160;\n&lt;p&gt;\"I just didn't want to hide anymore, in any way,\" 22-year-old Gordon said ... \"I didn't want to have to lie or sneak. I've been waiting and watching for the last few months, wondering when a Division I player would come out, and finally I just said, 'Why not me?'\"&amp;#160;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Gordon says he was inspired by Jason Collins -- who came out as the first openly gay NBA player last year.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;\"That was so important to me, knowing that sexuality didn't matter, that the NBA was OK with it,\" Gordon said.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;A rep for the University issued a statement saying, \"UMass is proud to have Derrick Gordon as a member of our athletic family and to honor his courage and openness as a gay student-athlete.\"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;\"UMass is committed to creating a welcoming climate where every student-athlete, coach and staff member can be true to themselves as they pursue their athletic, academic and professional goals.\"&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.tmz.com/2014/04/09/umass-basketball-player-derrick-gordon-im-gay/>