Former Baseball Star TJ House Sets Up House with Wedding to Long-Time Partner

Let's all congratulate the lucky couple, TJ House and his new hubby Ryan Neitzel! It seems that LGBTQ+ barriers have been cracking in professional sports for a few years now, and while we still have rampant homophobes like UFC basketcase Sean Strickland (who, incidentally, faces no consequences for his gross vocal opinions) we've been seeing more stories of professional athletes, or more often former athletes who have come out. More importantly, it needs to be noted that many of the coming-out stories mention that the athletes had come out privately to teammates long before going public, with often little backlash.

 

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A post shared by Tj House (@southpaw4625)

But back to the happy couple. House and Neitzel, looking all kinds of dapper in their IG wedding announcement, were married at Race and Religious, a wedding venue in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans. As if we needed more reason to love that city!

House's public life took a grand turn for the better with an emotional Facebook post in December of 2022 in which he celebrated the passing of the Respect for Marriage Act and came out as gay, AND announced his engagement! Quite the trifecta! But then what better joyous way to celebrate such a momentous event?

Good lord, these two are adorable! They were married last Friday, March 29th. Of the event, House said, “It’s that can’t eat, can’t sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kind of love.” We couldn't agree more!

We celebrate all pro athletes who have made the brave decision to share their private lives with their fans and the general public and be their true selves. Minor League player Solomon Bates came out to his teammates in 2019, followed by this emotional post in 2022.

 

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A post shared by Solomon Bates (@solomonbates)

And there are many others. In fact, Out Magazine compiled their list of "Out and Proud Athletes Who Changed the Game for LGBTQ+ People in 2023." From NASCAR's pro-stock driver Zach Herrin to Jaiyah T. Saelua, the first trans person to be recognized by professional soccer's FIFA organization, first playing for American Samoa's team at just 15 years of age. Saelua is a "fa’afafine — a person who identifies as a third gender in Samoan culture" and whose story will be included in famed director Taiki Waititi's film Next Goal Wins which tells of the team's push for the 2014 World Cup. And there are many more on that list to check out.

If the gridiron is more to your liking, you can also look through their "32 Football Players Who Came Out of the Closet" list, starting with Dave Kopay. The former NFL running back for San Francisco, Detroit, Washington, New Orleans, and Green Bay came out in 1975 after a nine-year career. He was the first professional athlete of any sport to come out publicly. The list goes up through Kevin Maxen with Jacksonville Jaguars, who, in July of last year, publicly came out in an interview with Outsports, making history as the first male coach in a US professional league.

 

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Kevin Maxen (@kmax3824) • Instagram photos and videos

What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Congratulations, TJ and  Ryan! Thanks for sharing your wedding bliss! And congrats to all the athletes who brave the slings and arrows to live their true selves!

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