SEATTLE _ Seattle Storm star Sue Bird announced that she is gay and is dating Seattle Reign and USWNT star soccer player Megan Rapinoe in an article from Mechelle Voepel of ESPNW.
"I'm gay. Megan's my girlfriend. ... These aren't secrets to people who know me," Bird told ESPNW. "I don't feel like I've not lived my life. I think people have this assumption that if you're not talking about it, you must be hiding it, like it's this secret. That was never the case for me."
The timing of the announcement coincides with Bird, 36, who is making her league record-tying 10th appearance in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday at KeyArena.
"It's happening when it's happening because that's what feels right," Bird said. "So even though I understand there are people who think I should have done it sooner, it wasn't right for me at the time. I have to be true to that. It's my journey."
Bird said she realized she was gay in college when she was a star at Connecticut. The Storm selected her No. 1 overall in the 2002 WNBA draft.
In her 15th season, Bird is averaging 10.8 points and 6.9 assists. For her career, she's averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 assists.
Last year Bird began a relationship with Rapinoe, who is five years younger and began playing professional soccer in Seattle in 2012.
"We have a lot in common and just sort of clicked," Rapinoe told ESPNW. "I joke she is my No. 1 go-to-for-advice person. She's just so level-headed."
