US volleyball captain Erik Shoji comes out as queer
Erik Shoji came out in a set of social media posts. (Getty/Canva)
Erik Shoji came out in a set of social media posts. (Getty/Canva)
Erik Shoji, captain of the US men’s volleyball team, has come out as queer in a powerful viral video.
The 35-year-old athlete took to TikTok and Instagram to share a deeply powerful coming out video, complete with anecdotes about his struggle with finding his truth.
The clip, which was shared to his 1.6 million TikTok followers, has since gone viral with floods of comments showing support for the libero player’s courage.
Parking himself on a velvet chair next to his slumbering labradoodle, Shoji, through courageous nerves, said: “I’m here to tell the world today that I am queer.”
Taking a moment to pet his dog, Shoji continued: “It feels scary, but freeing at the same time. I think personal acceptance takes a while. For me, it took a long time and I’m working through that still every day.”
The volleyballer went on to say that, despite his struggles accepting his identity, becoming content with it has made him “stronger, more confident, and more sure of myself than I’ve ever been.”
“I feel that given who I am and the platform that I have, that this is my moment and I’m so excited to move forward after this.”
Considered by many to be one of the best libero volleyballers in the world, Shoji joined the US men’s national volleyball team in 2013.
The Stanford record-holder for career digs, he helped the US win bronze medals at the 2016 and 2024 Olympic games, and gold medals at the 2015 and 2024 FIVB World Cup.
Shoji said he’s excited to move forward as a publicly queer athlete, which he said means “being free and myself.”
“I’ve been that for a couple of years now and that feels so good,” he continued. “I want my life to feel like I have one life and I think me saying this now brings a lot of that together.”
The Hawaiian-born athlete also enjoys a side-hobby of being a TikTok influencer, sharing tidbits and anecdotes from his life and career.
He said he was ready to bring the confidence from accepting his identity to his work as an athlete and to his “friends and family” too.
“The volleyball community has been so open and accepting from so many different types of people which is amazing to see,” he said. “I hope they don’t think any different of me.”
Floods of support from volleyball stars and well-wishers quickly came in, with USA Volleyball’s official Instagram account writing it was “proud” of Shoji for coming out.
The Volleyball Nations League Instagram account also chimed in saying: “We’re always with you, Erik.”
