Olympic soccer star Tobin Heath appears to come out with 'I am gay' artwork
Olympic soccer star Tobin Heath appeared to come out after sharing photos of her new painting featuring block letters spelling out “I am gay.”
The 34-year-old U.S. women’s national team striker was pictured standing in front of her artwork, “Out Now,” in an Instagram post Tuesday that was captioned, “i’m gonna be in a museum.”
The painting was sold Tuesday for auction at re—inc, a company Heath founded with team members Megan Rapinoe, Meghan Klingenberg and Christen Press. The gender-neutral streetwear brand offers products “designed for all gender identities and body types,” according to the company’s website.
Heath did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
According to re—inc’s website, “Out Now” is Heath’s ninth piece for the company and is described as “her most vulnerable work of art yet.”
“Created as a part of the Revolution Collection, Tobin’s process was an evolution in itself,” the company wrote in its description. “As she painted, the art inspired her and so, she started to play. What resulted is a bold and brave structure that serves as an ode to the challenging process of personal discovery.”
The company added: “Each square represents the uniqueness and multi-dimensional nature of a coming out experience. The intentional boundaries between each letter suggest our identities and journeys are not always completely connected. There’s room to explore. To change. The words ‘I am’ invite both confidence in asserting one’s truth, and also the power to question what’s true to you. In each of our processes of becoming—there’s often flexibility in our identities. What if our identities could be built with the freedom and curiosity of a child playing on the floor with letter blocks?”
Soccer fans and lesbians alike celebrated Heath’s art on Twitter.
“no one goes to the museum to see the mona lisa they go to see ‘out now’ by tobin heath,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another person tweeted, “i feel an absolutely overwhelming amount of emotion about one tobin heath!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
U.S. women's national team veteran Ashlyn Harris, who is married to former teammate Ali Krieger, applauded Heath's Instagram post with a heartwarming response.
"So proud of you. Love you so much my dear friend," Harris wrote.
