All American Championship wrestler Mike Pucillo comes out as gay: "I know there's going to be people that don’t like it"

All American Championship wrestler Mike Pucillo comes out as gay: “I know there’s going to be people that don’t like it”

Three-time All-American and 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion wrestler Mike Pucillo has come out as gay.

In an interview with The Open Mat, the 26-year-old opened up about struggling with his sexuality and how he eventually found the strength to tell those closest to him.

“I’ve always known, I guess. You try to not think that’s what it really is, so I just tried to say it was nothing. Then you start to realize it’s not really nothing,” he explained.

“You’ve been told that [homosexuality] is a bad thing your entire life. You hear it from your teachers, you hear it from your friends, you hear it from your coaches, you hear it from your parents.”

Pucillo, the first openly gay Division-I national champion wrestler, went to explain how he confided in his best friend and college teammate Reece Humphrey, whose support led to him eventually telling his parents.

However, it was his successful career that ultimately held the 26-year-old back from speaking about his sexuality.

“Wrestling is one of the toughest mentally, physically and manly sports there is. It’s two dudes rolling around on a mat,” he said. “People who don’t know wrestling call them leotards. It’s a joke, but it creates a built-in mechanism to say: ‘I’m not gay. I’m too manly to be gay. I’m too tough to be gay.’

“That adds into it. Add in the aspect of doing well, to me, (that) was another aspect that scared me. Not only am I a wrestler, but I’m pretty (freaking) good. I was mentally exhausted from (it),” he said. “I hate to say (I wasn’t) happy because I was happy, but there was just an aspect of my life that was missing.”

Pucillo added that he wants people to “know that you aren’t alone” by sharing his story.

“If I can just help one person get through, then I will be happy. If I can do that for one person, it’s worth it for everybody out there to know my story… I know there’s going to be people that don’t like it. To those people, I would say, ‘I’ve spent 26 years being uncomfortable. It’s not my problem anymore’,” he said.

“The only reason why I feel it’s important to tell my story is I know there are a lot of other people out there that are like me who are in high school or about to go into college, whether it’s wrestling or football or baseball or basketball or not in any sport, who are struggling with it.”

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