LOS ANGELES, Calif – Each year, ESPN The Magazine’s ‘Body Issue’ is a showcase for athletes to display their out-of-this-world physiques. It was a liberating experience for Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried.
He said he was partly inspired to participate when former NBA center Jason Collins revealed that he was gay in a Sports Illustrated article.
“[This was] the year to be comfortable in your own skin I believe,” Faried said from the red carpet at last week’s ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. “With [Jason Collins] coming out, saying that he’s gay, so. I’m comfortable with who I am. I think I have a great body and I want to show it off.”
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Faried is known to Nuggets fans as “Manimal” for his relentless style of play. He was named MVP of the NBA Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend and participated in the slam dunk contest.
Kenneth Faried tells theGrio.com why he participated in ESPN The Magazine’s ‘Body Issue’:
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He’s one of several athletes to pose in the ‘Body Issue,’ and has been getting some playful flak for it from teammates, especially Ty Lawson.
“Like when it came out and he saw the pictures…he just bashed me,” Faried laughed.
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In February, Faried made different headlines when he joined Athlete Ally, an organization devoted to fighting homophobia in sports. He was the first NBA player to ever join.
Former Ravens linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo is a board member. Faried said it wasn’t about being courageous – just stepping up and standing apart from the pack.
“I’m not afraid to step up to the challenge and be different,” Faried said. “It was just weird at first. People were different at first about my opinion. It was just a lot [to deal with].”
The 23-year-old was raised in Newark, NJ by a lesbian couple. In January, he appeared in a pro-civil union video for OneColorado, an LGBT advocacy group.
Faried helped lead his team to a third overall seed in the Western Conference during the playoffs. The Nuggets were upset by the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors in six games.
Follow theGrio’s Todd Johnson on Twitter @rantoddj