Being gay has nothing to do with the three gold medals or the three MVPs or the four championships I've won. I'm still the same person. I'm Sheryl.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I never said I was gay, because I don't think anyone is.
I was gay before I began to play soccer over 40 years ago. It's been 28 years since a friend and I organized one of the first gay soccer teams in the world.
The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud.
I'm not trying to get five medals. I'm not trying to be Michael Phelps.
I never thought I would be somewhat of a gay icon.
I still can't believe I'm an Olympic athlete.
Olympic medals are the one medal that I don't have; I've won just about every other competition that I've been at.
I've been gay since the day I was born.
I feel like at the Olympics I gave the best performance of my life and I wasn't rewarded for that as an athlete. Yes, my fans and my mom were happy about it, but I didn't win that gold medal.
I always say I'm one of the most normal abnormal people you'll ever meet. I get embarrassed about how many medals I've won, and I get angry when people presume that because you're gay you've got to wear pink and stilettos and camp it up, or that if you're disabled you should act like a victim and not have a life.