Byu mascot gay

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Bird wore the Cosmo the Cougar mascot costume from until , and became the face of Brigham Young University — one of the dozens, if not hundreds, of NCAA member schools with policies. Bird was the man behind the mask of the BYU mascot when a video of Cosmo dancing with the Cougarettes went viral in In the guest opinion piece, Bird “simultaneously came out to the world as gay and revealed his identity as BYU’s beloved mascot from –18,” according to a recent article from LDS Living.

Charlie Bird—the viral face of BYU during his years as Cosmo the Cougar—made waves across the nation when he came out and revealed to BYU fans that he is gay. The former mascot for Brigham Young University who went viral in a dance video with the BYU Cougarettes is coming out as a gay man. Reaction to this former Cosmo Cougar coming out has been mixed, but Bird said it’s been mostly positive and supportive.

Bird, who went to BYU after serving a full-time mission for the church, said as he attended school and performed as Cosmo, he realized his sexual orientation was an integral part of him. Charlie Bird rotated his body in a perfect flip. It was the type of movement that was so familiar, the execution was more than just muscle memory now—it was a part of him.

And rather than a backdrop of screaming fans admiring his synchronized hip hop moves with the Cougarettes, the surrounding scenery of the Egyptian pyramids was silhouetted behind him. It was just so surreal. The story exploded. After it went live on February 26, , the piece quickly became the 1 trending story in Utah and was covered by local news outlets such as Fox 13 News as well as others across the country, including HuffPost and Yahoo!

Charlie never dreamed of coming out so openly—it had taken a lifetime to tell his family and friends about his sexual orientation, let alone the world. Coming out and being in the public eye has been anything but easy. For instance, he gravitated toward things his sisters liked to do, like late night dance-offs, watching romantic comedies, or doing impromptu fashion shows. He also had a flair for artistic skills such as cake decorating, crafts, and beautiful handwriting, and from a young age he could perform round-offs and back handsprings while making it look effortless.

Charlie stood out because of his love for the gospel, too. While growing up, he made temple flashcards from pictures cut out of the Friend magazine and then memorized the name and look of each building. He committed to heart many scriptures and never missed a day of early morning seminary. This kid is a really special young man. But as she sat in her bedroom dreading school the next day, year-old Charlie came in to cheer her up.

And I think about that all the time—just the way he was able to lift me. But not everyone saw these traits in Charlie as a positive thing. Sometimes he was teased by his peers for being different, and the fear of being labeled as gay caused him so much anxiety that he tried to hide who he knew he was deep down from others. And this was all, of course, in hopes that nobody would ever accuse me of being gay.

And that was really tough. And that process—you know, as I did that, I started losing pieces of me. This helped him better understand his unique talents and gifts and to better minister to others while serving a full-time mission in California. And that helped me to be more authentic and also helped me grow closer to the Savior. He wondered if God hated this part of him.

But no matter how many girls he dated or how many prayers he offered asking God to change his nature, he was still gay. It was there that he received revelation from God that changed his perspective. I felt like my faith and my orientation were like two wolves, and neither of them could survive while the other lived on. But in that mindset, I was disregarding the fact that both of these are integral parts of who I am, and both have shaped my character, and I need to embrace and honor both of those truths in order to feel happy and at peace.

Coming out to his family and friends, though, was a whole other matter. Charlie found himself struggling with depression and self-loathing, and with no one to confide in for much of his life, he felt as though he had to do everything alone. One of the first in the family to reach out to Charlie unprompted about his sexual orientation was his sister Anne. Building up rapport with him, Anne would send Charlie positive content she found on a variety of topics—some of which was LBGTQ-related—and he would respond back in kind.

One day, when Charlie shared an article over text with Anne about a man whose background was very much like his own, Anne felt compelled to speak up.