ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez Comes Out Publicly, Announces He’s Getting Married

(from left) Kitchen, Gutierrez

I’ve been agonizing for months trying to figure out how to do this.

It’s been incredibly difficult, to the point where I usually talk myself in circles and end up making very little sense.

So I decided on this simple blog entry. No formalities, no restrictions, just me letting you into a portion of my life I’ve kept largely separate from my professional career.

I’m gay, which plenty of people, I’m sure, have either deduced or just guessed as much over the years.

But this isn’t me ‘coming out.’ The truth is, I’ve been out to friends and family for more than six years.

The reason I’m tackling this now is, primarily, because I’m getting married on September 12. And besides the fact that it would be annoying to tell my story every time someone sees my wedding ring, it just seemed like a natural time to get this out in the open.”

— ESPN reporter Israel Gutierrez in a very informative, revealing blog post in which he writes about his struggle being closeted as a younger man and the impact fiance David Kitchen and numerous out athletes have had on his life. Read the full post here.