David Testo, who has played professional soccer in North America since 2003, revealed Nov. 10 that he is gay.
Testo is the first former Major League Soccer ( MLS ) player to do soand claims in his coming-out interview with the French Canadian division of Radio Canada that his family, friends, teammates, and team management knew of his sexual orientation.
"I'm gay, I'm gay. I did not choose. It's just part of who I am. And it has nothing to do with the talent of a soccer player. You can be both an excellent soccer player and being gay," he told Radio Canada. "I really regret not having said publicly earlier [ about my sexual orientation ] . I fought with it all my life, my whole career. Living the life of a professional athlete and being gay is incredibly difficult."
Testo played at two perennial college powers, the University of South Carolina and University of North Carolina, from 1999-2003. He was the A-League's Rookie of the Year in 2003 with the Richmond Kickers, and then landed with the MLS' Columbus Crew in 2004. He moved to the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2006, and then the Montreal Impact in 2007.
He was released by Montreal last month.
In 33 MLS games with the Crew, Testo had one goal, four assists.
Testo was Montreal's team MVP in 2009and the Impact was set to join the MLS in 2012.