Williamette University football players comes out as bisexual

By revealing that he is bisexual, Willamette University kicker Conner Mertens said he hopes he can help someone who struggles with accepting who they are.

(Thomas Boyd, Thomas Boyd)

SALEM -- He was the quiet guy, the kicker who never kicked, but this week, the Willamette University football team found that freshman Conner Mertens had a big voice after all.

So big, in fact, that his latest statement could be heard around the nation.

Mertens on Monday told his team, and announced on social media that he was bisexual, making him the first college football player to come out publicly while still playing.

Even though he plays small college football -- Willamette is a Division III program whose spotlight is usually limited to matchups against other Northwest Conference powerhouses Linfield and Pacific Lutheran -- his announcement figures to further the assimilation of gays and sports.

Mertens, 19, said his teammates were overwhelmingly supportive and accepting. Jack Nelson, a starting linebacker and team captain, said the prevailing reaction to Mertens’ revelation was "So what?" because the team looked at him as an individual and teammate, regardless of sexual orientation.

“I was hoping these guys and everyone else in my life can show everyone else we are finally moving in the right direction and we are changing the way we look at people like myself,’’ Mertens said. “You can be real and you can be yourself, but it only starts when you can love yourself and let others love you. That’s where I was going with this.’’

Male athletes coming out in America is nothing new. The most notable examples are Jason Collins and John Amaechi in the NBA, and Robbie Rogers in professional soccer, but only Rogers and now Mertens have done so while still playing. Locker rooms are notoriously and inherently filled with insulting banter, often times homophobic, and Mertens is hopeful that his transparency can help eliminate the stigma.

“Right now, it is seen as a weakness to be LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender),’’ Mertens said. “When you hang out with your guy friends, 90 percent of the insults are homophobic comments, that’s just the way it is. What I’m hoping to do, I don’t want to say blaze a trail, but hopefully let people know you can still be an athlete, still be another guy, even if you like guys.’’

Mertens, who is from Kennewick, Wash., says he also likes and has dated women, but is currently in a relationship with a Portland man who is going to school in eastern Washington. He said his decision to come out had many layers. He was tired of hiding, tired of pretending to be straight, and mostly, he “encountered an atmosphere of love” within Young Life, a church group, and at Willamette that allowed him to become comfortable with himself.

And now, the football team, a group of 90 players, are part of his story and so far, the response has been warming.

“I know these guys, especially my teammates and coaches, are setting an incredible example for the rest of the country on how to be loving and supportive of a group of individuals,’’ Mertens said. “A lot of people ask me why I’m doing this. The main reason is to end stereotypes and stigmas that go along with what it means to like the same sex or be attracted to the same sex.’’

Mertens did not play last season while recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee, which is used as his plant leg while kicking. He said his longest field goal in practice is 62 yards (he says his brother can vouch) and his longest in a game is 47 yards. Next season, coach Glen Fowles says Mertens figures to be in a battle with Anders Mintz, a freshman who played in two games this season, to take over the kicking duties left by the departing Kyle Derby.

If Mertens recovers from his knee injury and wins the starting job, he is not worried about ridicule from Willamette opponents.