NBC Sportscasters -- Pictured: Bruce Jenner -- (Photo by: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
Bruce Jenner won the decathlon gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and became an instant national hero in America. Jenner appeared on the cover of the August 9, 1976, issue of Sports Illustrated….the February 1979 issue of Gentleman’s Quarterly….and on the cover of Playgirl magazine ….and little did anyone know at this time that he would indeed be a girl in 2015….as he became Caitlyn Jenner. Jenner became a spokesperson for Tropicana, Minolta and Buster Brown shoes…..and was also selected by the Kansas City Kings with the 139th overall pick in the seventh round of the 1977 NBA draft despite not having played basketball since high school. The publicity stunt was executed by team president/general manager Joe Axelson to mock the Kansas City Chiefs’ yearly claims that they planned on selecting “the best athlete available” in the National Football League Draft…..as Jenner was presented with a jersey customized with the number 8618….which was his Olympic-gold-medal-winning score….but would never appear as an active player with the Kings.
In a 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer in April 2015, Bruce Jenner came out as a trans woman….saying that she had dealt with gender dysphoria since her youth and that, “for all intents and purposes, I’m a woman.” Jenner cross-dressed for many years and took hormone replacement therapy but stopped after her romance with Kris Kardashian became more serious, leading to marriage in 1991. Jenner recounts having permission to explore her gender identity on her own travels but not when they were coupled…. and that not knowing the best way to talk about the many issues contributed to the deterioration of the 23-year-long marriage, which ended formally in 2015.
In this video herewith, Bruce Jenner appears with his ex-wife Linda Thompson Jenner as hosts of the 1985 I F B B Women’s World Championship body building competition.
