There have been 11 known gay players NFL history - Outsports

Contents:

• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
• OPENLY GAY EX-LLEGE PLAYER GETS EMOTNAL ABOUT CARL NASSIB'S ANNOUNCEMENT: 'RPECT'
• FORMER NFL PLAYER: THERE ARE GAY, BISEXUAL PLAYERS ON EVERY PRO FOOTBALL TEAM
• 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
• PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY
• EX-NFL PLAYER RYAN O'CALLAGHAN, WHO IS OPENLY GAY, ON JON GN: 'IT'S NEVER OK' TO E HOMOPHOBIC SLURS
• THERE HAVE BEEN 11 KNOWN GAY PLAYERS NFL HISTORY
• JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY
• JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR MEN'S PRO SPORTS TO INTIFY AS GAY

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

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.

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.

OPENLY GAY EX-LLEGE PLAYER GETS EMOTNAL ABOUT CARL NASSIB'S ANNOUNCEMENT: 'RPECT'

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

Stt Frantz hoped this moment would first openly gay Power 5 llege football player to pete, he hoped that the NFL barrier would break, even though he ultimately didn’t break after Frantz failed to land on an NFL roster when he clared for the 2020 draft, he worried: Would five years elapse before an NFL player openly me out as gay? 5 reer sacks sce 2016, announced he is gay via an Instagram post and vio. He uld save livMORE:Who is Carl Nassib, the NFL's first openly gay active player?

FORMER NFL PLAYER: THERE ARE GAY, BISEXUAL PLAYERS ON EVERY PRO FOOTBALL TEAM

”Frantz first told his Kansas State teammat he was gay 2016, durg his redshirt hman season. ” Even so, he felt like he let the gay muny down when his historic llegiate n didn’t advance to the pro level. “I wanted to be that person gay kids uld look up to.

“There’s such a stereotype around gay men pecially, that gay men don’t play football and gay men aren’t those type of guys.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

… Carl’s showg: No, you n be a gay man and play a mascule sport and sign a $25 ln ntract to play football.

“You n be a gay guy and play football and get 20-pl sacks the NFL.

”Hopefully soon, Frantz and Nassib and many around the NFL, cludg missner Roger Gooll, say an openly gay football player will not be newsworthy. ”Frantz adopted the same approach after he me out as openly gay.

PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY

“It’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m gay. Natnal FootballLeague team has at least one gay or bisexual player, acrdg to openly gay former player Ryan O’Callaghan, but they fear backlash for g out cludg losg sponsorships or even their place on the roster. “I thk ’s safe to say there’s at least one on every team who is eher gay or bisexual.

“We n still get fired for beg gay or nied servic for beg trans. Male sports leagu, progrs has been player Robbie Rogers beme the first openly gay athlete actively playg U.

EX-NFL PLAYER RYAN O'CALLAGHAN, WHO IS OPENLY GAY, ON JON GN: 'IT'S NEVER OK' TO E HOMOPHOBIC SLURS

Major league sports 2013, followed later that year by basketball player Jason NFL has yet to see an openly gay player on the field, and fewer than 10have e out first was David Kopay, now 77, who opened up about his sexualy 1975, three years after retirg.

”In 2014, player Michael Sam opened up about beg gay before beg drafted to the St.

Louis Rams, but was ultimately cut om the team before playg a profsnal went on to play for the Montreal Alouett as the first openly gay player the Canadian Football League before retirg for mental health reasons one of the few openly gay former U.

THERE HAVE BEEN 11 KNOWN GAY PLAYERS NFL HISTORY

“You have to expla to (young people), ‘You’re gog to n to some ignorant people, but you’ve got to have fah that they’ll tch up to the rt of the world and unrstand you are who you are, ’” he a teen ral California, O’Callaghan ternalized the gay jok and discrimatory language he heard his muny, and beme nvced his fay would hate him for beg gay. When Kansas State offensive tackle and NFL hopeful Stt Frantz me out to the natn as gay last week, he shared that his teammat, to whom he'd e out earlier, had warmly received the news, a sign the most alpha of locker rooms may fally be ready for equaly. So, wh two gay players takg the field the top tier of llege football this season, has the future fally charged onto the turf?

Here's a list of players llege and pro ball who have proved you n be gay or bi and still n the KopayRunng back Dave Kopay, who signed wh the San Francis 49ers 1964, would play for five teams before hangg up his jersey 1972. Coach Vce Lombardi had apparently nfid Smh that he knew of his sexualy but would never let impact him negatively; Lombardi's brother was also gay.

Yet he nspicuoly has never been ducted to the NFL Hall of SimmonsRoy "Sugar Bear" Simmons, an offensive leman for the New York Giants and Washgton Redsks, beme the send NFL player ever to publicly reveal he was gay. So Coach Vce Lombardi knew McDonald was gay when he took over learship of the team 1969, but ma clear there would be no discrimatn his locker room, those close to the legend say. He would e out to HBO Sports 2002, where he discsed lghg off gay jok and slurs for years while he played DavisCornerback Wa Davis, who played preason wh the Tennsee Tans, Seattle Seahawks and Washgton Redsks and spent two seasons wh NFL Europe teams Berl Thunr and Barcelona Dragons, me out as gay 2012, nearly a after his retirement.

JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY

He would later nfirm his sexualy on CNN and s down wh ESPN to discs the challeng of growg up gay Jamai and playg football while closeted. Michael SamThe world took notice 2014 when All-Amerin fensive end Michael Sam me out as gay to ESPN while still llege. Louis Rams and beme the first openly gay player ever to get drafted by an NFL team.

He did end up playg two years wh the Montreal Alouett, makg him the first openly gay player the history of the Canadian Football BryantA Purdue alum who gaed more yards than any other non-Heisman Trophy wner Big Ten history, Dorien Bryant failed to get drafted 2008. He later cled to sign wh the Tennsee Tans and Dallas Cowboys before g out as gay at 24, he told Philalphia Magaze 2013.

He would later move to San Francis and jo the Fog, a gay gby team, and pen a g-out blog post GallagherA Universy of Ptsburgh offensive leman om 1977 through 1979, Ed Gallagher reprsed his sexualy until 1985, when he had his first sexual enunter wh a man, then attempted to kill himself 12 days later. He died LuhenA kicker for the Nebraska Cornhkers who played om 2003 through 2005, Eric Luhen told Outsports he was open about beg gay and suffered relentls bullyg om a handful of teammat.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR MEN'S PRO SPORTS TO INTIFY AS GAY

While he said he never kept his sexualy a secret, a "nspiracy of silence" left the matter unspoken the GendreA kicker for four seasons wh the Middle Tennsee Blue Rairs, Alan Gendre, openly gay om age 16 on, would end his llege reer as the lead srer Sun Belt nference history.

He ma the cisn to announce he was gay, the first active Divisn III player to do so, after nnectg wh Conner Mertens through You Can Play, he SarafArizona State leman Chris Saraf 2014 me out as gay to lol LGBT publitn Compete, makg him the first Divisn I player out of the closet.

The move quickly brought msag of support om the athletic partment and universy officials, and the wrer for Compete told The Arizona Republic that the school fact approached him about breakg the SimsBrian Sims 2000 was named -pta for the Bloomsberg Universy football team Pennsylvania, makg him the first openly gay llege football pta NCAA history, acrdg to Outsports.