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Barrier-Breaking Football Players on What's Next for Gay Recruit My-King Johnson

Related Topics: Katie Hnida, Coming out

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

"I’m just here to play football."

With that all-business, stick-to-sports tweet, University of Arizona recruit My-King Johnson could have been just about any athlete responding to the media buzz around national signing day—but he’s not. Johnson, a 6’4”, 225-pound defensive end from Tempe, Ariz., forced three fumbles and had 21.5 sacks his senior year, making him the No. 52 DE in his class nationally, according to Scout.com.

He’s also the first openly gay Division I recruit, ever.

"When I saw that tweet, I thought, 'God, that was exactly the way I felt,'" says Katie Hnida, who at 17 years old (Johnson’s age) was in a similarly groundbreaking position.