WWE superstar Darren Young, whose real name is Fred Rosser, has outed himself as gay. TMZ spotted Young waiting for his luggage in an airport, and asked him whether or not the WWE could handle one of its wrestlers coming out of the closet.
Young is the first active wrestler in WWE history to come out. Former WWE performers Chris Kanyon and Orlando Jordan admitted their homosexuality after they left the company, and behind-the-scenes mover Pat Patterson came out once he retired from the ring.
Darren Young is not a superstar on the level of a John Cena or Daniel Bryan, however his profile will surely be raised in a manner similar to that of Jason Collins, a journeyman NBA center on his last legs who recently became the first active, male, team sports athlete to be openly gay.
WWE has not been openly hostile toward the gay community, and earlier this year ESPN personality and former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman discussed the topic on a radio show.
"There were several openly gay wrestlers and some of our old school guys as well. Never an issue and not only were we getting naked in front of each other, but we were wrestling each other in the ring and it wasn't an issue," Coachman said.
Young has not been a belt holder in the WWE, but he did win a 2010 Slammy Award for "Shocker of the Year," when he debuted for The Nexxus. His two signature moves are "The Gut Check," a Fireman's carry, double-knee gut buster, and the "Heat Wave," a full nelson turned into a flapjack slam.
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