U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday tweeted his support for the former Nadeshiko Japan striker Kumi Yokoyama, who came out as transgender on Saturday, and Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib, who announced on Monday that he was gay — becoming the first active NFL player to do so.
“To Carl Nassib and Kumi Yokoyama — two prominent, inspiring athletes who came out this week: I’m so proud of your courage,” Biden tweeted from his @POTUS account. “Because of you, countless kids around the world are seeing themselves in a new light today.”
Yokoyama, who currently plays for the Washington Spirit and represented Japan at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, intends to live as a man after quitting soccer. Their announcement came in a video posted to the YouTube channel of friend and former Nadeshiko teammate Yuki Nagasato on Saturday.