New broke Thursday that Jacksonville Jaguars assistant strength coach Kevin Maxen came out as gay. Maxen is the first NFL male coach to come out. He’s also the first male coach in major U.S. professional sports.
Maxen has been a part of football since his days in college playing for Western Connecticut State University. He has spent time coaching at Baylor and Vanderbilt as a strength coach.
Maxen has been a part of the Jaguars franchise since 2021. In February of 2022, Maxen reached out to Carl Nassib. Nassib is an open gay NFL player, who signed with the Tampa Bay Bucs in 2022.
What pushed Maxin to come out was the need to want to bring his significant other to Jaguar family events. Maxin told Outsports “I wanted the person I’m with to be able to share that with me.”
Maxin expressed the guilt of not being able to do same as everyone else because of the fear of what others might think.
Needless to say, Maxin has the support of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Owner Shad Khan said he expects to see Maxin next week at training camp feeling confident, free, and at peace.