Collin Martin (born November 9, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

San Diego Loyal San Diego Loyal Soccer Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship. ...

in the USL Championship. He has played for

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Su ...

and

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Soc ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

, and for

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

and

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut. History On June 8, 2021, ...

in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. He

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as gay in June 2018, making him at the time the only out man in any of the big five American sports leagues or any top-division professional men's national soccer leagues.

Club career

Youth and College

Born in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place ( Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in t ...

, Martin joined the

D.C. United Academy The D.C. United Academy is the youth and development program for the Major League Soccer club D.C. United. The program consists of teams at four age levels: the under-23 and under-20 teams, as well as the Academy (U-17, U-16, and U-15). The D.C ...

during the 2009–10 season as a 14-year-old in the under-16 category. In his second season with the u16s, Martin led the team in scoring with 13 goals while leading the side to finish top of its group in the

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league features youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

. Then, the next season, Martin was promoted to the under-18s where he led the team in scoring with 11 goals. He impressed the coaching staff enough that season to earn playing time with the D.C. United Reserves in

MLS Reserve League The MLS Reserve League was a soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada. It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2–0 victory by Chivas ...

action. Martin then choose to attend

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

where he would play for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a mem ...

soccer team for the 2012 season in which he scored one goal and registered six assists. At the end of the season, Martin earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors.

D.C. United

On July 10, 2013 it was announced that Martin had signed on as a homegrown player with

, thus becoming the team's sixth homegrown signing. After a short loan spell at the

in the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, ...

, Martin made his debut for D.C. United on August 3, 2013 against the Montreal Impact in which he came on in the 76th minute for

Nick DeLeon Nicholas Lee DeLeon (born July 17, 1990) is an American soccer player. Although he is capable of playing as a full-back, he typically plays as a wide midfielder, working towards the center. He is highly regarded for his work rate and 1-on-1 sk ...

as United won the game 3–1. He finished the 2013 season with seven league appearances.

Richmond Kickers (loan)

On July 17, 2013 it was announced that D.C. United had sent Martin out on loan to their

affiliate, the

. He made his one and only appearance for the Kickers on July 23 against the Vancouver Whitecaps Reserves in which he started and played 85 minutes as the Kickers won the match 2–1. On September 13, 2014 he scored his first professional goal to open a 2–1 win over the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

in the playoff quarter-finals.

Minnesota United

In January 2017, Martin was traded by D.C. to MLS expansion side

in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the

2018 MLS SuperDraft The 2018 MLS SuperDraft was the nineteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. As customary, the SuperDraft was held in conjunction with the annual United Soccer Coaches convention. The 2018 UCS was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania bet ...

. He made his debut on March 25 in a 5–2 loss at the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

, as a 63rd-minute substitute for

Mohammed Saeid Mohammed Khalid Saeid (born 24 December 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Superettan club Trelleborg. Born in Sweden, he represents the Eritrea national team. Career Saeid was spotted at age eleven by Fulham whil ...

. Martin played 12 matches in his first season in Minnesota, five as a starter. Having taken no part in the 2019 season, he was loaned in late April to

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

team

. In October 2019, at the end of Minnesota's season, Martin was one of five players released.

San Diego Loyal

In February 2020, Martin was signed by

for its inaugural season. He made his debut on March 11 in a 2–1 win at

Tacoma Defiance Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, is an American professional soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, U.S. that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the national soccer pyramid, as the reserve team of Seattle Sounder ...

, assisting the opener by

Francis Atuahene Francis Takyi Atuahene (born 8 June 1996) is a Ghanaian footballer. Career Youth & College Atuahene played three years of college soccer at the University of Michigan between 2015 and 2017. He left college a year early to sign a Generation Adi ...

via a free kick, and scored his first goal on September 2 to open a 1–1 tie at

Las Vegas Lights FC Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest ...

. During a home match against

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle Eng, owner of an advert ...

on September 30, 2020, Martin was the target of a homophobic slur by Phoenix midfielder

Junior Flemmings Junior Flemmings (born 16 January 1996) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a winger and forward for club Toulouse and the Jamaica national team. Club career Early career Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Flemmings began his career ...

during first-half stoppage time. Flemmings called him a "

batty boy In Jamaican Patois, ''batty boy'' (also ''JSAP'', ''batty man'', and ''chi chi bwoy/man'') is a slang expression often used to refer to a gay or effeminate man. The term batiman (or battyman) is also used in Belize owing to the popularity of Jamai ...

", a homophobic slur in his native Jamaica. After he went to the referee to report the incident, Martin was shown a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or dia ...

that was later rescinded after the referee admitted he was confused. After Phoenix manager

Rick Schantz Richard Lewis Schantz is an American soccer coach. He co-founded FC Tucson in 2010 and was its first head coach. He was also head coach of Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Championship. Coaching record Honors * USL Championship Coach of the Y ...

declined to apologize and remove Flemmings, San Diego walked off the field and forfeited the match in protest. A week earlier, the Loyal had forfeited a match against the

LA Galaxy II LA Galaxy II is an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most p ...

after a racial slur was used against one of their players. Flemmings was banned for six games and fined an undisclosed amount. On May 7, 2022 Martin came on as a half-time substitute at

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2018, the team currently plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. History Former teams The state of New Mexic ...

with his team winning. He was sent off for his second yellow card in the 79th minute, and the hosts scored for a 1–1 tie in added time.

International career

Martin has represented the United States at U-14, U-15, U-17, and U-20 levels.

Personal life

Martin was raised in an observant Episcopalian family. On June 29, 2018, Martin

publicly as gay. He was reported at the time to be the only active male professional soccer player to be openly gay. Martin transferred his credits from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

after joining D.C. United. He attended part-time for four years, and online for a fifth from Minnesota, before graduating in 2019 with a degree in history.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Collin 1994 births Living people American soccer players Association football midfielders Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni D.C. United players Gay sportsmen Hartford Athletic players Homegrown Players (MLS) American LGBT soccer players LGBT people from Maryland American LGBT sportspeople Major League Soccer players Minnesota United FC players People from Chevy Chase, Maryland Richmond Kickers players San Diego Loyal SC players Soccer players from Maryland USL Championship players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players