Orlando Cruz, First Openly Gay Boxer, To Get Married

Puerto Rican Orlando Cruz, the first openly-gay professional boxer in history, proposed to his partner on Wednesday via Facebook.

"I'd like to say, and share it with your friends, and with my friends: Do you want to marry me?" Cruz said in Spanish in a roughly two minute video posted on the social networking site, the Associated Press reports. "It's an important step; it's a step I've thought about; it's a step that we have thought about."

His boyfriend accepted.

Both Cruz's proposal and his public openess about his sexual orientation seem to indicate a sea change in the perceptions of homosexuality amongst Puerto Ricans, Latin America, and the general public vis-à-vis professional athletes.

In Puerto Rico, homosexuality was criminalized as recently as 2003, when the U.S. Supreme Court case of Lawrence v. Texas overturned all state and territory laws that banned consensual sodomy. In 2005, Puerto Rico ended the criminalization of same-sex relationships, and a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation was signed into law by Governor Alejandra Garcia Padilla on May 29 of this year.

In Latin America, South American countries remain ahead of the curve of many of their Caribbean, Central American and Anglophone neighbors to the north, with gay marriage legal in Argentina and Uruguay, and civil unions recognized in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. In the United States, same-sex marriage is still not federally recognized. 

For homosexual athletes, Cruz's coming out of the closet last October was a watershed moment. Following Cruz's announcment, L.A. Galaxy striker Robbie Roberts became the first openly gay soccer player when he came out in February. NBA Center Jason Collins followed suit as the first openly gay NBA player in late April.

As for Cruz himself (20-2-1), his next big milestone may be a championship belt. He'll face off against Orlando Salido in Las Vegas for the vacant WBO Featherweight title on Oct. 12.