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player at any level to publicly come out. With his announcement, he was banned from working with Young Life, which he had been certain would be a part of the rest of his life; the organization's "Faith and
Conduct Policies" did not allow any LGBT person to be a staff member or volunteer, though they
152:, where he was the youngest of four boys in his family. Growing up, he always excelled at sports. He concentrated on athletics after an incident in fifth grade in which classmates teased him for remaining in costume and makeup after a drama competition.
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to youth. After being in trouble in his freshman year, he credited Young Life with turning his life around. In his senior year, Mertens was named the placekicker on the
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that was ultimately approved by the state. Starting with his sophomore year in high school, Mertens was active in
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613:"Kicking down barriers: Willamette's Conner Mertens says he is bisexual in hopes of ending stereotypes"
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could participate as "recipients of ministry of God's grace and mercy as expressed in Jesus Christ."
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He became
Willamette's kicker in 2014, when he also received limited opportunities as a
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458:"Conner Mertens came out to his college football team. Now he comes out publicly"
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369:"'I'm bisexual': Kicker becomes first CFB player to publicly come out publicly"
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217:(ACL) injury to his left knee from playing soccer. In January 2014, Mertens
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677:"Conner Mertens has triumphant first season as out college football player"
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708:"Bisexual football player hopes sexuality will become 'nonissue' in NCAA"
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All-Area second team. He was also a four-year starter on
Southridge's
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163:. He said the Tri-Cities was not the most friendly area toward the
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347:"Meet Connor Mertens, who kicked down barriers in college sports"
489:"Willamette's Conner Mertens talks about coming out as bisexual"
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251:, a documentary about LGBT participation in American sports.
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National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III
551:"Kennewick's Ramos is All-Area football player of the year"
582:"Boys soccer: Mid-Columbia Conference rekindles rivalries"
428:. Fox Sports Live. February 9, 2014. Event occurs at 0:52
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and did not play football in his freshman year due to an
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Players of
American football from Washington (state)
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was "hostile", as he was surrounded by a culture of
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399:"College football player Conner Mertens comes out"
316:"Willamette football player comes out as bisexual"
167:. In 2012, 63 percent of the area voted against a
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520:"Mertens Hopeful for Change in Sports Culture"
136:about his sexuality; he came out as bisexual.
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205:. The school's football team competes in
155:According to Mertens, the environment at
65:1994 or 1995 (age 29–30)
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175:, a national organization that preaches
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656:from the original on February 23, 2014
487:Schnell, Lindsay (February 14, 2014).
314:Roemeling, Alisha (January 29, 2014).
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518:Landefeld, Bill (February 13, 2014).
798:Willamette Bearcats football players
773:LGBTQ people from Washington (state)
549:Anthony, Kevin (December 11, 2012).
367:Corcoran, Tully (January 28, 2014).
345:Reddish, David (February 20, 2018).
105:All-Area football second team (2012)
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803:21st-century American LGBTQ people
778:LGBTQ players of American football
675:Zeigler, Cyd (December 10, 2014).
291:Homosexuality in American football
117:(born 1994 or 1995) is an
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788:People from Kennewick, Washington
706:Bella, Timothy (March 22, 2015).
646:"Active college player comes out"
611:Quick, Jason (January 28, 2014).
580:Millikin, Jack (March 27, 2013).
456:Zeigler, Cyd (January 28, 2014).
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169:measure for same-sex marriage
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92:Career highlights and awards
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128:. He was the first active
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425:The Conner Mertens Story
16:American football player
283:College football portal
245:Mertens is featured in
157:Southridge High School
150:Tri-Cities, Washington
758:American bisexual men
687:on September 12, 2015
199:Willamette University
85:Kennewick, Washington
67:Kennewick, Washington
652:. January 29, 2014.
623:on February 22, 2014
592:on February 22, 2014
561:on February 22, 2014
530:on February 21, 2014
499:on February 19, 2014
57:Personal information
768:Bisexual Christians
748:American Christians
468:on February 3, 2014
225:, the first active
144:Mertens grew up in
132:player to publicly
126:Willamette Bearcats
27:Willamette Bearcats
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763:Bisexual sportsmen
718:on August 14, 2015
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197:Mertens attended
119:American football
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720:. Retrieved
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177:Christianity
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524:The Pioneer
330:November 2,
122:placekicker
77:High school
36:Placekicker
737:Categories
722:August 10,
691:August 10,
302:References
248:Out to Win
211:redshirted
209:. Mertens
173:Young Life
161:homophobia
140:Early life
81:Southridge
403:Outsports
320:USA Today
146:Kennewick
654:Archived
650:ESPN.com
408:June 15,
352:June 15,
255:See also
223:bisexual
219:came out
134:come out
124:for the
51:Freshman
32:Position
493:SI.com
235:punter
189:team.
187:soccer
62:Born:
42:Class
724:2015
693:2015
662:2014
629:2014
598:2014
567:2014
536:2014
505:2014
474:2014
434:2014
410:2018
385:2014
354:2018
332:2017
221:as
148:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
