Professional beach volleyball player Alex Ukkelberg comes out: "I'm thankful I'm gay"
"I'm thankful that I'm gay. It's made me a better, more empathetic person."
Professional beach volleyball player Alex Ukkelberg has publicly come out as gay.
On 5 November, the Los Angeles-based athlete took to Instagram to share the news in a wholesome, powerful video.
"There was no way I could be gay. Is there? Growing up, I was a basketball player, a football player. I played some baseball. I ran track. I knew I wanted to be an athlete, and in my mind, that meant there was no way I could be gay," Ukkelberg said.
"That sounds like a crazy thing to say now, but that's kind of the message I was receiving from the world. It took me a long time to come to terms with my sexuality, and even then, I contemplated staying in the closet for a long time."
Ukkelberg went on to admit that the words "I'm gay" were difficult for him to say. However, after "quite a few years of very bad mental health," he decided that he wanted to embrace both his queer and athlete identities.
"I was just going to have to figure out how to be both, and honestly, I'm thankful that I'm gay. It's made me a better, more empathetic person," he continued.
While the Ukkelberg sexuality is new information to us, the volleyball talent revealed that he's been out for over 10 years to family and friends.
"I've conveniently left that part of my story off social media because I'm still figuring out how to talk about it. I've gone back and forth on how or what to say, or if I should just say nothing at all," he continued.
"I don't want to say the wrong thing, but I also want to be honest about my experience and how I feel. Honestly, even after making this [Instagram] reel, part of me wants to just delete it. I never really wanted to be vocal about my sexuality, especially not on social media. But being vocal is exactly what the young version of myself needed. So, here I am talking about it."
Since sharing the video, Ukkelberg has received heaps of support in the comment section, with one Instagram user writing: "Such a beautiful video! became a fan."
Another commenter added: "So happy for you. Everyone should live their authentic lives and be free to be themselves."
Ukkelberg has also received support from his beach volleyball peers, like fellow openly gay player Charlie Siragusa.
In a recent interview with OutSports, Siragusa described Ukkelberg as being a "great person" that's a "bit of an enigma, but in the best way."
"He has so many different pieces of his identity that would seem to conflict, and somehow he's able to honour all of them and live authentically," the 27-year-old athlete told the news outlet. "I think a lot of times people feel like they have to give up pieces of themselves to fit in, Alex does not subscribe to that mentality at all."
Towards the end of his statement, Siragusa praised Ukkelberg for always providing him with "new ways" to look at the world.
According to his website, Ukkelberg grew up in Battle Lake, Minnesota. After playing competitive volleyball during his undergrad, he moved to the UK for two more years of college volleyball while earning his master's degree.
In addition to playing professional beach volleyball full-time, Ukkelberg has shared his skills as a college volleyball coach.
