Major League Soccer Gets It Second Ever Out Player

Minnesota United midfielder Collin Martin has come out as gay, making him only the second out player in Major League Soccer history.

Martin made the announcement in a tweet hours before his team was set to hold a Pride night game against FC Dallas.

"Tonight my team, Minnesota United, is having their Pride night. It's an important night form--I'll be announcing for the first time that I am an openly gay player in Major League Soccer," he wrote.

Martin said he had been out to friends, family, and teammates for years and called for greater inclusivity in sports.

"In light of my experience as a professional athlete, I want to take this moment to encourage others who play sports professionally or otherwise to have confidence that sport will welcome them wholeheartedly," he wrote. "June is Pride month, and I am proud to be playing for Pride, and to be playing as an out gay man."

Martin's coming out makes him the second gay player to come out in Major League Soccer, after Robbie Rogers in 2013. Rogers has since retired. It also makes Martin the only out man in any major American sports organization. Rogers issued his own supportive response to Martin's announcement.