Danish pro-athlete Villads Raahauge Jensen has come out as gay.
Taking to his Instagram profile, the handball player shared the news in a heartfelt post – which featured a photo from his childhood and a recent snapshot of him on a handball court.
“I am gay. Three words that in reality should be easy to say, but which for many years I’ve been afraid to open about,” he wrote.
“I’ve been thinking of posting a post like this for a long time and have been thinking if this was the right way to [come] out. But there is probably no right or wrong way.”
Jensen, who’s an attacking player for Lund, Sweden’s Lugi HF team, went on to discuss his initial reservations about coming out – revealing that he had “been terrified about how people, teammates, coaches and anyone around handball would react.”
“Would they look at me any different? Would they think I was wrong? Would I no longer be part of the team in the same way I was before?” he continued.
“Being gay in sports is in many ways still taboo without me quite having the explanation as to why. I just know that it has been really hard for me to be open about who I am.”
While he was fearful of his teammates’ reactions, Jensen revealed that the news was “received entirely positively.”
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“Although my closest friends have known for some time, and my family has always known, it’s still scary to tell something you’ve kept secret for so long,” he wrote.
“Hiding a large part of who you are from almost all people, makes you can never really be 100% yourself.”
Towards the end of his post, the 28-year-old athlete expressed his hopes of becoming a role model for other people struggling with their sexuality and to “show that it is okay to be gay in the world of sports.”
“Meanwhile, I sincerely hope that you’ll still see me as the person I’ve always been. Because yes, I’m gay, but also so much more than that. I’m still just Villads,” he concluded.
Since opening up about his sexuality, Jensen has received an array of supportive messages from his followers.
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One person wrote: “You rock, Villads! Welcome to the rainbow family; you always have our support!”
Another fan commented: “Thank you for being a role model. I think you’re helping a lot of young people with your openness.”
Jensen joins the growing list of professional handball players who have recently come out as part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
In 2022, Norwegian player Ola Hoftun Lillelien, Danish pro Jacob Bjørn Hessellund and German pro Lucas Krzikalla made headlines after coming out as gay.
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