Seton Hall Basketball: 1st Openly Gay Player Set To Make NCAA Tournament History

South Orange, NJ – Seton Hall University’s Derrick Gordon is set to become the first openly gay basketball player to set foot on the court for an NCAA tournament game.

On Saturday, the Seton Hall Pirates made history by winning their first Big East title in 23 years beating No. 3 Villanova 69-67 at Madison Square Garden.

Seton Hall is expected to be a No. 4 or No. 5 seed when the full field of 68 is announced on Selection Sunday, USA Today reported.

• See related article: Seton Hall Wins First Big East Title in 23 Years

Gordon will make his history-setting appearance when the Seton Hall Pirates take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday night in Denver, Colorado.

Gordon, a former University of Massachusetts basketball standout, transferred to Seton Hall in May of 2015.

He announced that he was gay in April of 2014.

"I don't want to hide in front of my parents or relatives or anybody now," Gordon told ESPN. "I want to be myself, be who I am, around everybody."

• See related article: UMass Basketball Star: I'm Gay

"For us, the fact that he’s gay is an old story,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard told USA Today. “These kids know about Derrick, they’re on social media and are very informed. This generation of athletes are much more educated on the gay athlete. I think the attention is brought on by adults. We make it a bigger deal. Some of these kids can teach us a lesson on how to handle this type of stuff.”

Photo via Wikimedia Commons