But once I was honest with the audience about who I am, I realized, ‘Okay, now I can talk and I can react at work.’”Īt the time, Max was a new hire at ESPN, coming over from WCBS-AM. “All of a sudden, becoming a talk show host wasn’t working. “Before I came out, I think I was failing,” Max told me on a recent edition of “The Sports Kiki” podcast. Max feared publicly coming out would ruin his career in the macho-filled world of sports talk. He opened the word document sitting in his computer, and told his listeners he was gay. radio show on ESPN Radio in New York, and for the final segment, decided to cut the Yankees-Orioles recap and talk about himself.
On May 19, 2011, Max signed on for his daily 5:00 a.m. Ten years ago, ESPN Radio host Jared Max had a question: Were sports fans ready to hear an openly gay man read the sports news?
