Jaguars’ Kevin Maxen becomes first publicly out male coach in U.S. men’s pro sports
Kevin Maxen, a strength coach for NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars, has come out as gay, becoming the first male coach in major US professional sports to do so.
In an interview with Outsports on July 20, Maxen told reporters that he didn’t want “to feel like I have to think about it anymore”, and hope that by doing so could “give someone else the strength to accept their own life and take control of their own story.”
Multiple female coaches in the NFL — including San Francisco 49ers assistant Katie Sowers, who became the league’s first openly gay coach in 2017 — have come out in recent years, and players Michael Sam, who was drafted in 2014 by the Los Angeles Rams, and Carl Nassib, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, are the first openly gay players.
“In an environment that is diversifying,” Marcus Pollard, Jaguars director of player development, told Outsports, “it is a privilege to work alongside Kevin who is hardworking, dedicated and thriving as a strength and conditioning coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.”
Prior to Jacksonville, Maxen was a strength coach with the Baylor and Vanderbilt football teams and played linebacker at Western Connecticut State University, a Division III program.
