You think Colin Kaepernick was “on an island” with his football team? Just imagine being a boxer outed as a gay man after a gay porno appears for all to see.
Yusaf Mack is a boxer out of Philadelphia who got caught up in one of the strangest sports stories ever. He appears to have squashed the drama for now by coming clean about the events that made him a target for TMZ and the like.
Mack went to great lengths to explain away the fact that he was involved in the making of a gay porn film. And by involved, I mean he was an active participant. When the video surfaced, Mack claimed that he had been drugged and couldn’t remember much about the shoot except that he thought he was being paid to be in a straight porn film.
TMZ had an “interview” with the guy that ended up just being him claiming not to be able to speak about any of the details for legal reasons. He did mention he was writing a book about the event.
Yes, a book.
This little interview, while great fodder for Harvey Levin, just made Mack look more troubled than the original story.
Since the TMZ non-interview, Yusaf Mack has decided to come clean about what really happened, as if we didn’t understand that already. He admitted to lying about being drugged to do the porno vid and says that he is bisexual.
That was not an easy thing to admit as you can see in his statement below. However, it had to be easier than keeping up a ridiculous lie that resulted in him getting sued by the porn production company Dawgpound USA and clowned by TMZ.
“This is an issued public apology from my heart. I want to address a few situations with the first being the false claims I made about being drugged during the Dog Pound adult film. I have never spoke negatively about the company that produced the film although the claim to have been given a drug by someone during set was a lie. I was completely aware and fully conscious during the film.
The second situation, which further explains the first, concerns my lifestyle. I did participate in the adult film because at the time I needed money but also because I am a bisexual man. Meaning I enjoy safely being intimate with whomever I choose.
Lastly I would like to address the reason I lied. My life was completely destroyed once it had been outed that I participated in a gay film. I selfishly tried to cover the truth and remain in denial, rather than accept the fact that I was leading a double life secretly.
After reflecting on the mess I had made I realized that I hurt a lot of my loved ones and the people, my famCherry.d fans, I cared about the most were left disappointed and confused. It was unfair and time to come clean. I want to say sorry to my children and my ex fiancé, I am so sorry that I was a coward and hid a huge part of my life from you all. To the ones that were once my friends and now feel disgust, I’m sorry, but this is my life. I’m not looking for sympathy or even understanding, I’ve kept this secret for a long time. It is time to move forward and this is me walking in my truth.
There are other men and women that are set up in the similar situations and I just hope I can be inspiration to be just be you. The extreme taboo and harsh criticism of living a same sex lifestyle, especially as an African American male, makes it hard to be completely honest and comfortable within yourself. But I had to remember that I am a champ & I can fight and will fight through this. I am more than my sexual orientation. To all of my supporters I thank you dearly. For all other media outlets please contact my consultant Anthony Cherry.”
Many will assume Mack only started telling the truth about the story once Dawgpound USA threatened a lawsuit. That may be the case, but I think we can assume this boxer willing to do some pornography for $4500 is pretty much judgement proof.
He likely has no money for which he can be sued. Apparently he also has ten kids, so I’m pretty sure any child support payments are in line before any porn company legal judgements.
It’s hard to imagine how hot the spotlight would be on this tough guy who made a living fighting other men in a ring. Coming out as a gay accountant or factory worker can’t be easy. But a boxer?
When the video surfaced, it’s easy to see how Mack would try and escape the truth of it all.
Lying wasn’t the answer obviously, and you might want to really take some time before agreeing to be filmed doing gay porn if you are not comfortable with people knowing you are gay or bisexual.
A good rule of thumb is to avoid doing porn at all.
In his statement Mack mentioned he hoped to be able to inspire others in his situation. While no one would want to end up in a wacky tale like this boxer felt he had to fabricate, there are plenty more athletes out there that are hiding their own truths and would panic if they were outed before they were ready.