
During the 2000 season, the longest season in the Division II school's history, Sims came out as gay to his teammates. In 2000, Sims was the co-captain of the Bloomsburg University football team, and was recognized as a scholar athlete. He later completed his undergraduate studies at Bloomsburg University, in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania in 2001. He graduated from Downingtown High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania in 1997. Sims lived in seventeen states before settling in Pennsylvania in the early 1990s. Sims was raised in the Catholic Church but stopped attending church at the age of 16.

Sims was born in Washington, D.C., the son of two Army Lieutenant Colonels of Irish descent. 3.1 Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
