There have been few professional athletes in any major sport across the entire globe to come out as openly gay during their careers. As such, the widely publicized revelation from boxer Orlando Cruz (18-2-1, 9 KOs) as he prepares for his next fight, against Jorge Pazos on Oct. 19, comes as a huge surprise.
It’s a story that has reached far beyond the scope of boxing and into the greater sporting and social contexts of our country. Certainly, Cruz has received vastly more attention right now than he ever has at any point in his career, even when he was still riding high as an undefeated Featherweight prospect with a 16-0-1 record.
At that time, January 2009, he was coming off a career best win over a then 30-0 Leonilo Miranda. His career took a downward turn at that point, as he lost two consecutive fights by stoppage, first against Cornelius Lock, then against Daniel Ponce de Leon.
Since, Cruz has won two fights in a row, and is ready to try to make it three straight in a few weeks.
As a promotional tool, nothing he could have otherwise done or said would have rivaled the buzz created when he made made the public announcement via a press release, saying:
“I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”
The most well known incident involving homosexuality in boxing prior to this is when long-time rival Benny Paret repeatedly battered Emile Griffith in the lead-up to their 1962 rubber match with the slur “maricón”, or faggot. An enraged Griffith ended up battering Paret to his death, brutalizing him as a hapless referee failed to step in and stop the bout. Griffith came out publicly as bisexual later in his life.
Boxing, more than any other sport, is based so often on a combatant proving not just his ability or skill, but his toughness, and further, his “manliness”. While that on the one hand makes it more difficult, perhaps, to be openly gay in the sport, it may also make it easier on the other.
Once you’ve been through the ropes, and in Cruz’s case, as you’ve been a successful professional fighter for years, nobody in their right mind could try to say – he isn’t man enough. What does being gay have to do with it, really?
Surely though, this must have been a tough decision to make. All I really have to say is good for you Cruz, and more power to you. Hopefully he and his family can gain some added comfort with the public revelation, and hopefully they avoid much backlash from the bigoted fools we all know are out there.
Further, maybe Orlando Cruz’s announcement will help to spur on other professional athletes to come out as well. Maybe one day we’ll even get to a place where this would be a newsworthy announcement, but not a foundation-rocking shock.
