Former Major League Soccer (MLS) player
Matt Pacifici on Sunday shared a photo on Instagram of himself with
his boyfriend, announcing for the first time publicly that he's gay.
“What do you mean 'I didn't tell
you?'” Pacifici captioned the image of himself holding hands with
his boyfriend Dirk Blanchat.
Speaking with LGBT sports blog
Outsports, Pacifici, 25, said that the post was also his
boyfriend's coming out.
“When you're in a relationship that
makes you happy, and on social media you see people posting about
their girlfriends, it feels weird not being a part of that,” he
said. “You want them to know. This relationship is the one
that makes me the most happy ever in my life.”
A 2016 injury ended Pacifici's soccer
career.
Pacifici explained that he feared
coming out would hurt his career.
“Playing the part of the straight
professional athlete was much more important to me at the time than
being true to myself,” he said.
According to Outsports, Pacifici
is the fifth current or former MLS player to come out publicly, the
most recognizable being Robbie Rogers.
(Related: Robbie
Rogers: No regrets about coming out gay.)
“The more people who come out, the
easier it will be for other people to follow,” he said.