Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s flyweight Molly McCann says that it was the sport of mixed martial arts, and the community that surrounds it, that empowered her to come out as gay.
An individual’s decision to speak their truth and come out of the closet as homosexual can be a scary situation for most. And that was the case for “Meatball” Molly McCann (11-4) for most of her life. However, the 31-year-old said in a recent interview on The MMA Hour that it was the sport of MMA itself, and the various characters around it that gave her the strength to come out as gay six years ago. Now, she is trying to empower the next generation to be brave enough to do the same with her new children’s book.
Molly McCann explains MMA empowering her to come out
“It’s a children’s illustrated book, and it’s called “Be True to You,” McCann explained about her latest venture. “It’s about my coming out story, and how I wasn’t able to come out until later in life. And it’s basically a little education, all about the LGBTQ+ flag, and right at the bottom, on the back of the book there’s space for a child to tell their story or a young person to tell their story to the parents if their struggling.
“Speaking to Tom Smith, my mind coach, he wrote a book and he was saying things like tell me about your goals, this, that and the other, and I just thought I don’t know why I don’t help my community a little bit more. And shine more of a light on how hard it was for me, but the MMA community and MMA [in general] was the thing that made me feel safe enough, loved enough to have that space to come out. And [the book’s] done really well. I don’t see the profits. I give the profits to Stonewall, a charity which is obviously based in America.”
The Stonewall organization was created following a 1969 NYPD raid of the Stonewall Inn gay club. The raid led to days of protests and even riots condemning the violent actions of the city’s police. The organization has been at the forefront of homosexual equality issues ever since.
McCann is an ambassador for the organization and admitted she still receives hateful messages even to this day. However, it is fascinating that she has found a safe place in this unique violent sport that brings together genders, religions, cultures, and ethnicities from around the world.
McCann won a performance of the night bonus from her victory over Ji Yeon Kim on Saturday afternoon at UFC Vegas 36. It was her first win in almost two years following back-to-back losses to Taila Santos and Lara Procopio.
