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As one of basketball’s most happening coaches, Curt Miller has been in his second season as the head coach of W’s team on the West Coast, the Los Angeles Sparks. Having an experience of more than 30 years, Miller has been out and about at different levels of coaching, including the NCAA and WNBA. However, more importantly, there is another aspect of his personality that defines and brings out his true identity.

“I do want to use my platform. I want to be that role model for the next generations of gay male coaches that are right now wondering if they can continue to chase their dream. I want them to know that they certainly can.” These were his words from last year when he made his insightful contribution towards Pride Month. Taking a deep dive into his unique journey, let’s explore some more.

Curt Miller, LA Sparks’ openly gay head coach embraces his identity

Curt Miller is a coach who has found success at both college and pro levels, and who identifies himself as openly gay. It might sound cliche, but Miller’s story echoes nothing but inspiration. Last summer, he sat down with long-time sports commentator Holly Rowe and walked her through the notable glimpses of his coaching career. When asked about how he describes himself, Miller simply said, “Fiery, intense, collaborative, caring would be words that describe me.”

via Imago

He further elaborated on being gay as such a small part of his role as a coach, saying, “Yeah, such a small part, you know, but a part that I embrace and ignore or tried to push down and not really celebrate at times. For the longest time I wanted to be the successful coach and not the gay coach and I lost decades of opportunities to being a role model and mentor to others,” sharing insights on how his openness shaped his career as a coach.

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It takes a lot from oneself to accept who and what they are. Many people spend all their lives, not knowing what makes them unique or different from the rest of the bunch. On the contrary, Miller recognized, accepted, and has been embracing himself, more so, being open about it.

“It’s now um, you know, certainly, a part of me that I really embrace and I am proud of and realize that I am trying to open doors for the next generation because there hasn’t been very many people walking through those doors behind me and I know they’re out there, I hear from them, I hear from behind the scenes and we’re losing too many talented gay men coaches in the sport of basketball because they question advancement, they question opportunities,” he says, being the torch bearer for other aspiring individuals to follow.

Embodying confidence as a part of his personality, Curt Miller understands that there is no better way to inspire than to lead them with your example. “I became comfortable in my own skin and started living authentically and out in the coaching profession during my collegiate coaching days as an assistant coach. And when I had the opportunity to start interviewing for head coaching college jobs, I was very honest with all the potential employers and the people interviewing me that I was an openly gay male, and at the time had a partner and we were raising twin boys.”

via Imago

Although inspiring, it was not a smooth path for him. Sharing one such incident he candidly says, “There’s unique stories throughout my career. The hiring process is always interesting at the collegiate level and the pro level. I had an AD once tell me that they would be taking a big gamble on me. And I had won 13 conference championships at the collegiate level at that time to find out that they ultimately offered the job to someone who won 14 games, 14 games!”

At the end of the day, Miller always thinks of uplifting the young generation through his journey, inspiring them to have the courage to grow up to the level they want to thrive at.

Miller is a role model to the upcoming generation

Besides playing the role of a head coach, Curt Miller has always lived his life fearlessly. Hence, he has somehow transformed it into a blueprint for the many more to come along later walking down a similar path.

As a gay man, he had many struggles to deal with. So, he wholeheartedly gives out a message to the young people facing those struggles. He says, “Your journey is your journey and you have to be comfortable with yourself. No one has the timeline for you. But the next message is, it’s unbelievable when you come out, the support and you can guide them to the story after story of people coming out for the first time and the support they’d feel, the freedom they would feel. But you have to reiterate that each one that you talk to, it’s their own journey and their own timeline is important to them. There is no playbook for coming out.”

With this message, he advises the young generation to have the courage to speak up to be free of those traditional bounds and taboos.