MONTREAL - Many professional athletes stay quiet about their sexuality out of fear for their careers and negative reaction from fans.
Two weeks ago David Testo, a former player with the Montreal Impact, decided it was time to come out of the closet.
"For me it just made a lot of sense in my personal life and for my career and I felt I could be a positive influence in a lot of people's lives," said Testo.
The 30-year-old athletes teammates had known before he joined the Impact in 2007 that he was gay, but Testo never let on to fans and the public at large, until now.
His decision to come out is incredibly rare.
"It speaks volumes to say that I played for almost ten years professionally and I don't know one other gay soccer player," said Testo.
He said many players may feel that coming out will be detrimental, but his experience so far has been anything but bad.
"I've gotten so much so support from all demographics, from all different ages, it's crazy how many people are affected by this."
For the full interview, click the video player to the right.
