There have been 11 known gay players NFL history - Outsports

Contents:

• CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY N.F.L. PLAYER, HAS BEEN A FOOTBALL EVERYMAN
• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
• THERE HAVE BEEN 11 KNOWN GAY PLAYERS NFL HISTORY
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY N.F.L. PLAYER, HAS BEEN A FOOTBALL EVERYMAN

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTCarl Nassib, the First Openly Gay N. He om a football fay, was a standout at Penn State and has tght his teammat about personal Miller/Getty ImagPublished June 22, 2021Updated June 25, 2021Las Vegas Rairs fensive leman Carl Nassib walked outsi his home Wt Chter, Pa., looked directly to his phone and did somethg that he said he hoped would one day no longer be a few brief sentenc, the 28-year-old Nassib me out as gay. Conversatns wh iends and fay ma possible, he said, for him to publicly say that he is gay.

ViotranscripttranscriptCarl Nassib Be First Openly Gay Active N. I jt want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. L., his ach and his peers the league for their rpect and acceptance, and acknowledged that many gay people before him did not receive that same support.

Player Jason Colls, who beme the first openly gay male athlete 2013. The NFL has played for more than 100 years and there have been 16 gay or bi players to e out publicly. 16 and the first one to e out as gay while on an active roster.

MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY

Over the years, Outsports has known of a few other players who are gay but have never e out, even when retired. The NFL Network produced a documentary on Smh beg gay. Jenks is gay and this was the the first time he wily discsed his sexual orientatn.

In June, Carl Nassib of the Rairs me out as gay.

We saved the bt for last: Dave Kopay me out as gay a newspaper terview 1976. Dave Kopay out as gay newspaper terview.

THERE HAVE BEEN 11 KNOWN GAY PLAYERS NFL HISTORY

It was December 1975 and he had read an article the Washgton Star newspaper that alt wh the difficulti of beg a homosexual sports. The Star was flood wh hate mail about the story, sayg uldn’t be te, that gays did not exist the NFL.

She wrote a groundbreakg article that tailed Kopay’s time the NFL as a closeted homosexual. ” Kopay, 69, told me last week about reactn to the Star story, when I told him he was Outsports’ No 1 gay sports moment. In many ways, Kopay’s revelatns form the start of the morn era of gays sports.

The book has spired and forted gays and lbians for 34 years (Billie Jean Kg told Kopay how much the book helped her). A few years ago Los Angel, I met a gay man who fled Malaysia after nng afoul of s anti-sodomy laws. This happened right before the start of one season wh Washgton, wh the two of them stayg over at the hoe of Washgton PR man Joe Blair, himself gay.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

Smh died of AIDS 1987, never acknowledgg he was gay. It meant a lot to him that this school honored an openly gay alum, and he was moved to tears as he reunted beg warmly greeted by not only past graduat but current stunts and their parents.

Puttg together this list of 100 top gay sports moments was not easy and we ma some mistak along the way. We nsulted wh many men and women active the gay sports muny and got dozens of submissns for moments. When me to pickg the top moment, though, our experts were unanimo – was Dave Kopay, the most signifint gay athlete morn history.

The announcement today by former Patrts and Chiefs offensive leman Ryan O'Callaghan that he is gay brgs to seven the number of NFL known gay players NFL history who have played a regular season game. In addn, four other players who me out as gay were NFL trag mps, some playg preason gam. Kopay played wh two teammat who were gay: tight end Jerry Smh and nng back Ray McDonald.