MONTREAL - The Quebec Council of Gays and Lesbians offered tribute Thursday to former Montreal Impact soccer player David Testo Thursday for revealing that he is gay.
Steve Foster, the group's president, said that the announcement will increase public awareness concerning the existence of gays and lesbians in high-level sport.
Testo, a 30-year-old former Montreal Impact soccer player, revealed in a media interview that he was gay and that he regretted not having announced it long ago.
Testo, born in North Carolina, said that his family, Impact teammates and team management were aware of his sexual orientation and that he felt uncomfortable that the public remained in the dark about it.
Foster said that Testo's decision will allow his organization to display more positive gay role models from professional sports. He hoped that other gay athletes would follow Testo's example.
"David Testo's declaration is in fact very personal," Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo said in a statement. "We knew David's orientation prior to him joining our club from Vancouver in 2007."
"During his career in Montreal he has always been a professional and dedicated player to this club on and off the field," he added. "His decision to go public must have been a difficult one and we respect it."
The list of other publicly acknowledged gay athletes remains slim. It includes Mark Tewksbury, Martina Navratilova in tennis as well as John Amaechi in basketball.
With file a from The Canadian Press
