![\"Kyle](\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Kyle-Kurdziolek.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nKyle Kurdziolek, a student at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, hid his secret for years for fear that it could prevent him from playing.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite his fears, Kurdziolek was surprised to find that the reaction from friends, family and teammates was overwhelmingly positive.<\/span><\/p>\n ABC 7<\/b><\/a> reports:<\/span><\/p>\n In May 2016, he told a coworker at a Joliet clothing store that he was gay<\/a>. In August he started to tell some of his teammates. Among them was Alex Zlomie, a defensive end who turned out to be one of his best friends.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe were hanging out over summer and we were going to a concert in Joliet and we were just walking in and he was like, \u2018Hey, I wanted to let you know I\u2019m gay<\/a>,\u2019 and I didn\u2019t even break stride, I was like, OK,\u201d Zlomie recalled.<\/span><\/p>\n The next step was informing his coach, Joe Curry.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was completely 100 percent happy for him. You know, everybody in their life desires to be part of something and be happy, and Kyle\u2019s no different,\u201d Curry said\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI feel so relieved now, like, I\u2019m so happy about the person I am today, just being able to get that off my chest and feel comfortable about who I am. I don\u2019t have to hide behind this mask anymore, I don\u2019t have to conform to some norm anymore. I can be Kyle Kurdziolek, I can be who I want to be and without no restrictions,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Kurdziolek added that his inspiration for coming out was Michael Sam. He is hoping that his experience coming out as a gay<\/a> scholarship college football player might inspire other college athletes to come out.<\/span><\/p>\n Watch an ABC report below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The post Catholic Illinois College Linebacker Comes Out as Gay: WATCH<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>An Illinois college football player has come out as gay<\/a>, and is \u201cperhaps the first scholarship athlete who decided to end the charade while he was still competing at the collegiate level,\u201d according to ABC7 New York<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nRELATED:\u00a0Meet The Adorable College Athlete Who Came Out on the Day of SCOTUS\u2019 Gay Marriage Ruling<\/em><\/a><\/h2>\n