Former soccer player Matt Pacifici comes out as gay

Former Major League Soccer player, Matt Pacifici, introduced the world to his boyfriend, Dirk Blanchat, via an Instagram post.

“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,” Pacifici told Outsports. “You want them to know. This relationship is the one that makes me the most-happy ever in my life.”

Pacifici was a goalkeeper for the Columbus Crew until he suffered a head injury, which ended his soccer career.

Until that point, Pacifici was hesitant about coming out because he was afraid it would hurt his reputation as an athlete.

“Playing the part of the straight professional athlete was much more important to me at the time than being true to myself,” he said.

Pacifici is the fifth Major League Soccer player to come out publicly, and he said he hopes more people will find the courage to do the same.

“The more people who come out, the easier it will be for other people to follow,” he said.

A version of this article was first published in Outsports.

The Gayly 1/21/2019 2:59 p.m.