"My name is Marco Lehmann. I am 27 years old, I am a professional 3x3 basketball player and I have decided that I will not wait until I retire to
announce that I am gay
."
Thus begins the letter in which Lehmann, considered one of the best shooters on the 3x3 basketball circuit, wanted to make his condition public and denounce many of the hardships he has had to go through during his career because of it.
The Swiss opens his heart in an open letter on Player's Voice, within the official FIBA website.
"This is for all those people who no longer want to have a double life, for those who live in a system in which they do not exist.
This is for future generations
, so that they can live and enjoy a sporting life without having to I am not going to lie, this is for me too, to live without this burden, "says the player, who has led the Swiss national team to two appearances in the 3x3 Europe Cup of the new Olympic sport.
Lehmann says he was "not happy" despite all his sporting successes and a brilliant career traveling 20 countries, "living a dream." Every week when my boyfriend took me to the airport, I went from being the happy gay man in a relationship to a professional athlete without emotions who
did not want to talk about his personal life
, "he continues in the letter.
His worst moment came in December 2019. "I hit rock bottom. I started crying, cold sweats down my back ... and for what?
Just thinking about the next workout
. I couldn't bear the thought of changing my personality one more time. ".
So he chose to isolate himself.
"I called to say it was bad, I was confident that the panic attack would stop. But no. The mobility restrictions and the stoppage of competition due to the pandemic helped me hide my mental problems from the world of basketball. I always thought my career would end. repeating that of '
I don't have a girlfriend because I want to focus on my career
.' But I couldn't, "he admits.
"Being gay in a team sport seems taboo.
And it has to stop now
. There are young players who leave team sports when they discover that they are gay," he explains while recalling two situations he experienced: a coach with an inappropriate comment to the team asking them to stop playing as 'nenazas' and another who heard on a bus trip in which they claimed that "homosexuality is a disease. They should kill themselves. Imagine playing with someone like that."
Lehmann remembers that they were very complicated moments, he was
"in shock and couldn't sleep"
, "I was clear that I was going to stop playing but it didn't last long because I love this sport very much. Was it going to happen to a person who thought he should kill me? Only if it was the last option to win a game. "
He also recalls that once he was close to being honest with his teammates, "explaining everything to them and answering their questions because in the end your private life is something else. But that day I realized that it is not your teammates who decide your career, it is your coaches. , your board, the teams that offer you contracts and
you are afraid that they will not offer you one because of your sexual orientation
. That prevented me from making my announcement until today ... ".
Lehmann assures that "the time has come to be happy and to enjoy my career without having to hide or lead a double life and hopefully help other athletes in Switzerland and around the world."
"Starting today I will be Marco Lehmann, gay 3x3 basketball player. And if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to win the World Tour and take Switzerland to the 2024 Olympics."
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