Isaac Humphries is running it back. The out basketball stud is gearing up for his eighth pro season, fresh off another sizzling summer.
The former Kentucky standout has found a home in Australia’s top pro league, the NBL, where he’s parlayed his success into nascent careers in music and modeling. Most recently, he has been touting his partnership with Ralph Lauren Fragrances, and the iconic brand’s Polo 67 cologne in particular. The spray is supposed to capture the fresh feelings of baseball, continuing Ralph Lauren’s proud history of sporty scents.
Star athletes from around the world, including New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-Min, serve as ambassadors for the cologne. Humphries finds himself in good company!
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Standing at 6-foot-11, Humphries is a natural in front of the camera. The man looks great in a tie… and on the cover of GQ.
It’s gratifying to follow his success, considering his rise to stardom coincides with his coming out. The 26-year-old told his teammates he was gay in November 2022, and hasn’t looked back.
When he made his big announcement, he was embraced.
“A few years ago, I fell into a very dark place, a very lonely place,” Humphries said. “I couldn’t be who I am, and I attempted to take my life. The main reason behind me becoming so low and being in that point is because I was very much struggling with my sexuality and coming to terms with the fact that I’m gay.”
Just a few years ago, the idea of male pro athlete coming out was largely unfathomable. But Humphries didn’t just say he was gay.
He opened up about his internal struggles.
“Then came the big question mark of how do I be a basketball player, and how do I join a new team when I’ve finally come to terms with this about myself and I don’t wanna hide who I am anymore,” he said. “I decided that, if I’m gonna join a team, that I’m gonna come out publicly, and just make sure people know that you can live. And you don’t have to hide, just because you’re an athlete.”
With his past hardships in mind, Humphries is an ambassador for the Australian non-profit R U OK? He tours the country talking to young people about the importance of prioritizing mental health.
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Living his unabashed best life, Humphries spent his offseason touring London, hiking volcanoes and performing on stage (he released a Christmas album last year). He doesn’t believe his off-court successes would be possible if he was still closeted.
The self-shame was too much.
“When I got to my lowest point, it definitely was to do with my sexuality,” he said in a recent interview. “I definitely had the self-homophobia and the shame and the hatred that a lot of closeted gay people go through. But then I had the layer of a super public masculine persona as a professional athlete, and I had to think ‘how does this marry? How does this sort of go together?’”
Over the last two years, Humphries has found his identities as a basketball player and gay man blend together just fine. The proof is in his sweet moves to the rim.
BANG!
Humphries starts his season with the Adelaide 36ers on Thursday. We’ll be watching… time difference be damned!
