Pro soccer player David Testo has
announced he's gay.
The 30-year-old Testo came out publicly
for the first time during a CBC Radio-Canada interview.
“I'm a homosexual, I'm gay. I didn't
choose this. This is just who I am. It has nothing to do with if
you're good at soccer. And you still can be an amazing soccer player
and be gay,” he said.
“It's like carrying around a secret,
you know, and carrying around luggage and just never being allowed to
be yourself,” Testo added. “And it's incredibly energy
draining.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this
page.)
Testo said he regretted not coming
forward sooner and that his teammates knew he was gay and accepted
him.
The North Carolina native has
previously played for the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Columbus Crew and
Richmond Kickers. He joined the Montreal Impact in 2007 but is
without a contract.
Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo
said in a statement that officials were aware of Testo's sexual
orientation when they hired him.
“David Testo's declaration is in fact
very personal,” Saputo said. “We knew David's orientation prior
to him joining our club from Vancouver in 2007. During his career in
Montreal he has always been a professional and dedicated player to
this club and off the field. His decision to go public must have
been a difficult one and we respect it.”