Jaguars assistant strength coach Kevin Macsen admitted to being gay for the first time in the American professional leagues.
His announcement is the first for a male coach in a major US professional league.
JACKSONVILLE, Florida. Kevin Macsen, assistant strength coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, became the first male major professional league coach to come out as gay.
Maxen opened up about his sexual orientation in an interview published by Outsports on Thursday.
“I don’t want to think about it anymore,” Macsen said. “I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I’m dating or why I’m living with someone else.
“I want to actively support people living the way they want, but I also want to just live and not be afraid of people’s reactions.”
While Macsen’s announcement is a first for a male coach, NFL players have made appearances before. Michael Sam became the first openly gay draft pick when the then-St. Louis Rams chose him in 2014. In 2021, Carl Nassib, then playing for the Las Vegas Raiders, became the first active NFL player to come out publicly. Naseeb played for Tampa Bay last season.
Several female coaches from the American leagues have been open about this, including Cathy Sawers, a former assistant to the San Francisco 49ers.
Maxen said that he was no longer comfortable with hiding his orientation or a two-year-old boyfriend.
“You have other coaches who have significant others and they talk about their significant others,” Macsen said. “And I felt guilty that I couldn’t do the same thing that I let myself down.”
