LGBT athletes come out in record numbers.

Missouri Wrestling vs SDSU - January 19, 2013 Photo by Ben Walton

While working on his master’s degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Joe Hladik researched the ways male athletes navigate masculinity.

Hladik, an All-American swimmer at the University of Missouri from 2009-13, completed his master’s degree in May 2016, and in November 2016, he published the research results on his website.