Former basketball pro AJ Ogilvy comes out as gay

AJ Ogilvy comes out publicly (Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images)

Former Australian basketball player AJ Ogilvy has come out as gay and says he kept his personal and professional lives separate during his career.

The 37-year-old, who played seven seasons with the Illawarra Hawks and was named to the All-NBL first team three times, opened up about his sexuality in an interview with Isaac Humphries, the National Basketball League’s only active gay player.

Interviews with the two athletes were conducted prior to the match. NBL pride roundfocuses on celebrating inclusion and diversity within basketball.

“I’ve been married for almost 18 months. I met my husband when I was playing in Sydney, so I was with him the whole time I was in Wollongong and part of the time I was in Sydney,” Ogilvy said.

“While in Sydney I continued. [my two lives] I was pretty independent, but I wasn’t too scrupulous about it either.

“Some people may have known, but nothing was explicitly said.”

Ogilvy went on to say that he “probably didn’t live my life as authentically as I could have, especially during my time in the NBL”, explaining that he had two different social media accounts.

“For a long time, I believed that to be a basketball player, you had to be straight and not show this side of your personality,” Ogilvy said.

“So I had two social media accounts, one that I used for basketball-related things and one that I only used with my close friends and was more open about it.

“Growing up, gay relationships were never portrayed in a positive light in basketball or in the media at large. Instead, I was told it was going to be a sad and lonely life.

“It was definitely quite taxing for me.”

Adelaide Thirty-Sixers star Humphries came out as gay in 2022, which Ogilvy said was a “huge moment” not only for the NBL but “basketball around the world”.

“It’s very beneficial to have someone of your stature and demeanor come forward and proudly say, ‘This is you,'” he says.

Meanwhile, Mr Humphries said Ogilvy’s decision to be open about his own sexuality would have a positive impact on the NBL.

“We have a player who plays every weekend, an openly gay player who is now a former player, an openly gay player who is married and is ready to talk about his life and his situation,” he said.

“That visibility and acceptance is really important and it continues to move our great league forward.”

Now in its fourth season, the NBL’s Pride Round will be held from January 21st to February 1st and will see clubs focus on inclusion in their efforts to reflect their local communities and show that everyone has a place in basketball.

Commenting on the event, Humphries said that “visibility is very important” and “that’s how things start to move forward.”

“It’s really great to play in the Pride Round, in this league, to be so welcomed and accepted,” he continued.

“In our community, everyone is undeniably accepted and we are learning to stop judging and accept people as they are. That’s what it is.”