Trey McBride loves his parents, but they are just a little bit different from what sports fans are accustomed to seeing.
The star Colorado State University tight end is widely expected to be selected for this year’s NFL Draft, which kicks off in Las Vegas on Thursday. If he does get chosen, McBride will be the first NFL player with openly same-sex parents.
McBride and his five siblings were raised by Kate McBride and her longtime partner Jen. McBride told TODAY his mothers were always “great role models” for him and his siblings, and called their upbringing “very special.”
“Really, it’s just normal to me,” McBride said. “It’s something that I’ve been with my whole life. It’s not anything that I know differently.”
“When your kid comes to you when they’re little and they say they want to be president, you’re like, ‘OK, honey, that’s great,’” Kate said. “He wanted to play in the NFL, and he’s going to do it.”
Kate and Jen, who began their family back in the 1990s, said things were very different for same-sex parents at that time.
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“They actually considered me a single mom,” Kate said. “And I do remember telling my parents that I’m pregnant, and they said, ‘Why would you want to have a baby as a single woman?’ And I said, ‘I’m not a single woman. I’m in a relationship.'”
McBride’s last season at Colorado State, he hauled in 90 receptions for 1,121 yards and was a unanimous All-American. He also won the John Mackey Award, which is given to the best tight end in the country.
