Former Basketball Star Andrew Ogilvy Opens Up About His Sexuality
Former professional basketball player Andrew 'AJ' Ogilvy has made a significant personal announcement, publicly coming out as gay during an emotional interview released this week. The 37-year-old Australian athlete, who enjoyed a successful career in the National Basketball League, revealed he has not lived his life authentically until now.
Pride Round Revelation
Ogilvy made his announcement in a video shared to the NBL's YouTube channel on Wednesday as part of the league's fourth annual pride round celebrations. 'There's now a place for us to have this conversation, to be able to talk as openly as this,' Ogilvy explained when discussing his decision to come out publicly. 'If people want to talk to someone, people want to be able to ask opinions, ask questions, it gives them someone else to reach to.'
The three-time All-NBL first team star, who played for both the Illawarra Hawks and Sydney Kings during his career, sat down for the conversation with fellow Australian basketball player Isaac Humphries. Humphries himself came out in 2022, becoming only the second active men's professional basketball player to do so after NBA centre Jason Collins in 2013.
Personal Life and Career Reflections
Ogilvy revealed that he has been married to his husband for eighteen months, having met his partner while playing in Sydney during the 2013-14 season. He admitted that while he wasn't 'super discreet' about their relationship, he was never explicitly open about it either.
'Some of the guys probably knew. Nothing was, I guess, ever explicitly said, especially at your level of, you know, openness,' he continued. 'While I was in Wollongong, definitely more of the guys got to know him. A couple of the guys, my old teammates, were at the wedding. There was, I guess, a level of recognition and knowledge around it, but just not openness.'
The retired athlete, who ended his professional career in August 2022, reflected honestly on balancing his basketball life with his sexuality. 'I was very lucky with my career. I got to travel the world and get paid to play basketball, which is, you know, such a privilege. [But] I probably didn't live my life as authentically as I probably could have during my time, especially in the NBL,' he explained.
Career Achievements and Personal Struggles
During his professional career, Ogilvy made 218 NBL appearances and also played competitively in Spain, Turkey and Germany, where he won a Basketball Bundesliga championship. The centre spent the majority of his NBL career with the Hawks, leading the side to a grand final appearance in 2017.
Ogilvy acknowledged that Humphries' 2022 announcement had given him courage, but when asked if he had considered coming out earlier, he admitted he had initially intended to keep his sexuality private. 'I think part of it was I viewed it as just my business, but the world shifted probably in between our generations. Like when the marriage equality vote rolled around, I was very vocal about that while still not publicly saying, 'I'm a gay man,'' Ogilvy explained.
The Pressure to Present as Straight
The former basketball star spoke candidly about the challenges of balancing his personal and professional lives, revealing he felt pressure to present as straight throughout his career. 'I think for a long time it was, "I want to be a basketballer, [and] to be a basketballer I had to be this - I have to present as straight. I have to not show this side of my personality,"' he said.
He continued with a revealing admission about his social media habits: 'So I had two social media accounts. One that I'd use for basketball stuff, and one that I just had tight friends on where I could be more open, I guess. Growing up, it wasn't just in basketball; it was like media as a whole - it just wasn't positive portrayals of gay relationships growing up. It was more, 'It's going to be a sad life, a lonely life.' [It] definitely weighed on me pretty heavily.'
Broader Context in Sports
Ogilvy's announcement comes against a backdrop of increasing visibility for LGBTQ+ athletes in professional sports. Jason Collins became the NBA's first openly gay player when he came out in 2013 through an open letter published by Sports Illustrated. Although he remained closeted for much of his career, Collins revealed his sexuality while languishing on the free-agent market in May 2013.
The following season, his former New Jersey Nets teammate Jason Kidd recruited him to Brooklyn, where Kidd was coaching the newly relocated team. On February 23, 2014, Collins signed a 10-day contract with the team, becoming the league's first openly gay player. He remained with the Nets for the rest of the season before retiring the following November.
Cultural Shifts and Representation
The conversation around LGBTQ+ representation in sports continues to evolve, with cultural products like television shows also playing a role. The recent success of Canadian TV show Heated Rivalry has reportedly had an impact beyond entertainment, according to one of its stars.
The HBO show follows the clandestine rivals-to-lovers arc between top tier hockey stars, and actor Hudson Williams has revealed that multiple closeted professional athletes have reached out to him since the program's premiere. 'It's definitely the people who reach out, somewhat anonymously, who are like, "I'm a professional player, and I'm still in the closet,"' Williams said during an interview with Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM radio show.
Williams noted that closeted hockey, basketball and football players have contacted him through various channels, adding: 'They're reaching out to Rachel, our author, who will then relay these lovely anonymous emails, and sometimes they're just reaching out privately through Instagram, and those are the ones that hit you and go, "Oh, so this is a fun show and it's celebratory, but also sometimes it's just hitting people right in the nerves."'
Ogilvy's decision to speak openly about his sexuality during the NBL's pride round represents another step forward in creating more inclusive sporting environments where athletes can bring their whole selves to their profession.
