Collin Martin, a major league soccer player and the only openly gay man on a US professional sports team in the five majors, is endorsing Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign.



“I’ve been following along with Pete for a bunch of months now, and I’ve been completely impressed by the guy,” Martin told BuzzFeed News over a phone call Tuesday morning. “Obviously, I think we’re at a really critical time in our country, not only concerning who’s in the presidency now but just with issues like climate and upholding people’s basic rights. And I think Pete’s the man for the job. I’ve been completely enamored by him.”

Martin pointed to Buttigieg's remarks in April aimed at Vice President Mike Pence, when he said, "If you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

As a gay man of faith, Martin said, he thought to himself during that moment, “This guy just really gets it.”

Martin, who plays for Minnesota United FC, became the only openly gay man who plays for a professional sports team in the US when he publicly announced that he was gay before his team’s Pride Match in June 2018.

“Representation is huge,” Martin told the Washington Post at the time. “Having role models in any workplace in any setting in life is important.”

“People need to know that it doesn’t matter what sexuality you are, how old you are, what race. It doesn’t matter,” he added. “You’re going to be received well on a team as long as you’re a good teammate and do your job every day.”

Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, became the second openly gay man to run for president when he announced that he was exploring a presidential run in late January.