Australian basketball player Isaac Humphries came out as gay in an emotional announcement to his teammates this week. 

The former University of Kentucky star spoke to the Melbourne United team to tell them he was “coming to terms” with his sexuality. 

Humphries, who played in the NBA in 2018, shared a video of his announcement on social media, starting off by saying it was one of the “hardest conversations” he’d ever had. 

“But life’s about doing hard things and learning from them,” he said. 

Seated in front of his teammates, the former NBA player revealed that a few years ago, he “fell into a very dark place, a very lonely place.” He said he’d struggled with his identity so much that he attempted to take his own life at that time. 

“I thought I could not be that person in our environment, within a basketball environment,” Humphries said. “It wasn’t until I was in a community that is full of pride and happiness and joy, and it was a big wake-up call for me.”

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Humphries fought back tears as he encouraged people to not hide who they are “just because you’re an athlete.”

“We as professional athletes have a responsibility to set examples for people,” he continued. “That’s my goal behind this. Make sure people know that you can be whatever you want, no matter who you are or what you do.”

This announcement makes Humphries the only active pro basketball player in the world to be openly gay. 

The NBA released a statement in support of Humphries’ announcement.

“We are proud and grateful to Isaac for sharing his story,” the organization said. 

Humphries received an outpouring of support on social media from fans across the world.

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