Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen out as gay a first for US-based pro leagu | AP News

openly gay pro football players

Two athlet recently g out has highlighted the arth of openly gay players the world of U.S. men's profsnal sports, often dubbed "the last closet" for s lack of LGBTQ reprentatn.

Contents:

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

Carl Nassib is the first to ever play a down as openly gay, but the rt are still trailblazers. * openly gay pro football players *

“I jt wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay, ” the former Las Vegas Rairs player, 30, revealed a June 2021 Instagram vio. Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen is believed to be the first openly gay male ach major North Amerin men's sports after g out publicly an terview wh Outsports. ”Maxen is believed to be the first openly gay male ach the NFL and all of major Amerin men's pro sports, acrdg to Outsports.

" San Francis 49ers assistant Katie Sowers, a pneer among female ach the NFL, me out as the the league's first openly gay ach 2017, acrdg to Outsports.

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

Kev Maxen, assistant ach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is the first openly gay ach of a U.S. men’s profsnal league sport * openly gay pro football players *

He add that he reached out last year for advice on g out om former Las Vegas Rairs lebacker Carl Nassib, who beme the first active openly gay player NFL history 2021. -- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn.

Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. A giant mural of England's first openly gay footballer has been unveiled on the si of a Fashanu remas the only male profsnal player to nfirm he was homosexual - amid fears he would be "outed" by a natnal newspaper 1990 - and was ducted to the footballg Hall of Fame spe now beg seen as an spiratn the fight agast homophobia and discrimatn sport, the proud Canary took his own life 1998 - wrg his suici note that beg gay and a personaly was "so hard" former Norwich Cy striker, who beme the UK's first black £1m player when he was sold to Nottgham Fort, ntu to be seen as a legend at the Norfolk Champnship "wonr strike" agast Liverpool at Carrow Road 1980 went on to w Match of the Day's goal of the season now his face has taken pri of place on the si of a Canari supporters pub.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen is believed to be the first openly gay male ach major North Amerin men's sports after g out publicly an terview wh Outsports. * openly gay pro football players *

A mural of former Norwich Cy player Jt Fashanu, England's first openly gay footballer, has appeared on the Fat Cat and Canary. In other words, where Bud Light has buckled unr prsure as bigotry grows agast the LGBTQ+ muny, Gay Water’s creator Spencer Hodson wants his new boozy brand to be the anthis of that.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN IS FIRST AMERIN MALE PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen has e out as gay. His announcement is a first for a male ach a major U.S.-based profsnal league. * openly gay pro football players *

“The key issue that Bud Light tapped to was the fact that they didn’t unrstand their re dience and know enough about them,” Hodson, a gay man, told CNN about the ntroversy that began when the Anhser-Bch beer brand sent fluencer Dylan Mulvaney a n of beer.

The nned cktail is named after a lloquialism given to the popular mixed drk (vodka and soda) orred at bars by the gay muny. “Puttg a product wh the word gay the tle is reprentatn self,” which he hop reclaims the word om the negativy ’s sometim associated wh. The two chatted about the limed amount of gay people wh , and wh Hodson burnt out om his tradnal day job tech, started the nned cktail.

JAGUARS’ KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE ACH TO E OUT AS GAY US MEN’S PRO SPORTS

Jaguars assistant Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's pro sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer. * openly gay pro football players *

Hodson built up a strong social media followg on TikTok and Instagram durg Covid-19 and is g some of the money om that (as well as om iends and fay) to help fund Gay Water.

“Gay is an umbrella term and the ia behd the brand is to be as clive as possible, which means we want alli, we want straight people to be part of this muny we’re buildg.”. For now, Gay Water is sold largely onle (wh a few retailers) and four sugar-ee flavors — watermelon, lime, peach and grapeu — at lnch.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Kev Maxen is now the first openly gay male ach the NFL. * openly gay pro football players *

Gay Water might not have the ep pockets pared to s petors, like Whe Claw, but “even at small sle, pani of many siz are havg succs makg spir-based seltzers and premixed cktails,” Bryan Roth, an analyst for Feel Goods Company and edor of the alhol beverage newsletter, Sightl+, told CNN. “There’s lots of space the spir-based seltzer tegory which Gay Water n play, pecially if the brand n offer a cultural or emotnal nnectn that will feel more excg than the prospect of another peapple-flavored vodka seltzer om natnal or ternatnal rporatns,” Roth said. Of urse, other drks e the word “gay,” too, cludg Gay Beer and So Gay Rosé, Hodson noted, which are also tryg to reach the queer muny and offer them an alternative the straight-domated space.

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

Josh Cavallo, the only openly gay top-flight male soccer player the sport, has told CNN that FIFA’s cisn to ban players om wearg “OneLove” armbands at the Qatar 2022 has ma him feel “exclud.” * openly gay pro football players *

— The Tampa Bay Bucneers have signed outsi lebacker Carl Nassib, who beme the NFL’s first active player to e out as gay 2021, rng him wh the team he played for 2018 and 2019. There has been only one player who has publicly e out as gay or bisexual while beg an active player the Natnal Football League (NFL): Carl Nassib, who revealed himself as gay on June 21, 2021.

GIANT MURAL ON NORWICH PUB HONOURS JT FASHANU, ENGLAND'S FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER

Blackpools Jake Daniels tells his story to Sky Sports about beg the UKs first male profsnal footballer to e out publicly as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990 * openly gay pro football players *

Blackpool forward Jake Daniels speaks exclively on beg the UK’s first male profsnal footballer to e out publicly as gay sce Jt Fashanu. No active Major League player has e out as gay, though Billy Bean, who now works as MLB’s senr vice print for diversy, equy and cln, and Glenn Burke both me out after their playg reers end. The Las Vegas Rairs are releasg Carl Nassib, the fensive end who ma history last year as the first openly gay active player NFL history.

On Febary 23, 2014, Brooklyn Nets center Jason Colls be the first openly gay athlete to play a game the Uned Stat’ four major profsnal leagu.

(Jam Gilbert/Getty Imag)Jacksonville Jaguars assistant strength ach Kev Maxen me out publicly as gay Thursday, which mak him the first known openly gay male ach the NFL and all of Amerin men’s profsnal joed the Jaguars’ strength and ndng staff last season.

WHO IS OPENLY GAY THE NFL?

The Rairs fensive leman me out a statement posted to his Instagram acunt on Monday, beg the first active player the league to publicly intify as gay. * openly gay pro football players *

Tampa Bay Bucneers fensive end Carl Nassib beme the league’s first active openly gay player when he me out 2021, when he was wh the Las Vegas Rairs. Former San Francis 49ers assistant Katie Sowers ma history as both the first woman and first openly gay ach a Super Bowl was a lebacker at Wtern Connecticut State, a Divisn III program.

Josh Cavallo, the only openly gay top-flight male soccer player the sport, has told CNN that FIFA’s cisn to ban players om wearg “OneLove” armbands at the Qatar 2022 has ma him feel “exclud. The Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has end s of silence wh men’s football to bee the first player the UK to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH AND NDNG ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

* openly gay pro football players *

Photograph: Pl Dennis/TGS Photo/ShutterstockDaniels’s revelatn is a strikg landmark that when men’s football is more engaged wh social issu than any recent time, but still unable to ce progrs LGBTQ reprentatn wh the year Alai Uned’s Josh Cavallo beme the only male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to e out as gay, but others are yet to follow.

JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’

Carl Nassib of the NFL's Las Vegas rairs out as first gay football player — and uld be a turng pot for LGBTQ players male sports * openly gay pro football players *

In six months the men’s World Cup will be played Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal, and Cavallo revealed to the Guardian he would be “sred” to play at the tournament, the pnacle of world English football specifilly, the shadow of the talented and unfulfilled Fashanu still lgers over the game.

The England ternatnal me out at the end of his reer and was to take his own life eight years later, Fashanu, Jt’s niece, who ns a charable foundatn his name, said that Daniels’s cisn would “e as a huge fort to the many footballers at all levels of the game still secretly livg as gay and who still feel unable to e out”. "Blackpool forward Jake Daniels speaks exclively on beg the UK's first male profsnal footballer to e out publicly as gay sce Jt talks about g out to his parents, his club, and his team-mat.

Of urse I am aware that there will be a reactn to this and some of will be homophobic, maybe a stadium and on social 's an easy thg for people to target. Football v Homophobia: "Football v Homophobia would like to ngratulate Jake on takg this step to share his thentic self the men's profsnal game, pecially at such a young age.

JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990

"There have prevly been players who felt that they had no place the game as out gay men durg their playg reers, but Jake is showg the world that you n be yourself.

FirstThe Rairs fensive leman me out a statement posted to his Instagram acunt on Monday, beg the first active player the league to publicly intify as gay. I actually hope that like one day vios like this and the whole g-out procs are jt not necsary, but until then I’m gog to do my bt and my part to cultivate a culture that’s acceptg, that’s passnate, ” before addg that he would donate $100, 000 to The Trevor Project, a nonprof group that foc on suici preventn efforts among lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and qutng youth.

JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FORWARD BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

“Sports are, many ways, one of the last bastns of a place where homophobia n thrive, ” said Cathy Renna, a spokwoman for the Natnal L.

”Michael Sam, an all-Amerin fensive leman at Missouri, had been viewed as the most likely to acquire that distctn when he announced he is gay before he beg chosen by the Rams the seventh round of the 2014 N. The Dallas Cowboys signed Sam to their practice squad, but he never played a regular season Otero/Associated PrsSam’s draft stat was seen as a barometer of whether the climate of men’s pro sports was beg more acceptg of gay athlet, particularly bee Febary 2014 the N.

RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST

Had jt bee the first of the four tradnal major Amerin men’s sports leagu to have an openly gay active player when Jason Colls joed the Sam left the N. He played for ne seasons wh the San Francis 49ers and four other teams the 1960s and 1970s, and has sce bee an activist and an ambassador for the Gay Gam, a quadrennial sportg Simmons was the send former player to announce that he was gay, dog so 1992 after his reer wh the Giants and Washgton Football Team had end. ”In recent years, the league has publicly supported Pri Month through promotnal efforts like changg official social media avatars to clu rabows and supportg the You Can Play Project, which provis rourc to enurage clivy youth sports, even as some players have ma rogatory statements about gay people wh ltle penalty or supported groups that oppose gay Wewerka for The New York TimIn 2013, Chris Culliver of the San Francis 49ers and Chris Clemons of the Seattle Seahawks ma offensive ments when asked about the prospect of havg a gay teammate.

BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.

”San Francis nng back Garrison Hearst apologized 2002 for g a slur and sayg he wouldn’t want a gay player as a teammate. Players like Brendon Ayanbajo, who played wh the Baltimore Ravens, fend same-sex marriage and gay rights and supported Sam at the time.

Seven years before Las Vegas Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay on Monday, an all-Amerin om the Universy of Missouri risked a promisg reer wh a public claratn. “I am an openly proud gay man, ” Michael Sam, a 24-year-old fensive end, told ESPN and the New York Tim Febary announcement followed a surprisg 12-2 season for Missouri, which won the SEC East and then the Cotton Bowl as Sam was named the SEC fensive player of the year. On Tuday, Sam thanked Nassib for jog the ranks of LGBTQ football players, payg special tribute to the donatn Nassib ma to the Trevor Project, a nonprof foced on suici Vegas Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib announced June 21 on Instagram that he is gay, makg him the first active NFL player to e out.

The NFL particular had faced cricism for allegedly askg prospects about their sexual orientatn and had been acced of hamperg players who spoke out favor of gay many profsnal athlet around the world, cludg several retired NFL players, had e out by 2014, no one who was still playg football had dared to make that move before story rurfaced on Monday when the 28-year-old Nassib, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns 2016 and now plays for the Rairs, announced that he is gay a vio on Instagram. “Here’s the tth: Everyone ow Michael Sam such a b of gratu, ” Wa Davis, a former NFL rnerback who me out as gay 2012, told The Washgton Post on Monday. He wasn’t the only gay man who stggled to fd a place the NFL after g retired NFL players have publicly intified as gay, begng wh Dave Kopay, who me out 1975, three years after leavg the sport.

20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS

There are some players on the list who a rear would expect to see bee they are well-known the world of lbianism and gays.

He me out while playg for Leeds Uned 2013, 23 years after Jt Fashanu took the first step for gay soccer players around the world.

Daniels ma headl May 2022 when he beme the send profsnal English soccer player to publicly e out as gay, 32 years after Jt Fashanu boldly claimed the tle. Many high-profile English people praised him after he me out as gay, cludg Prce Harry, then-Prime Mister Boris Johnson, and England natnal team pta Harry Kane. Not only is this Atralian pro the only openly gay player the 2022 World Cup, but he’s also GQ’s 2022 Sportsman of the Year.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

This is where Matt Pacifici beme known through his Instagram announcement, a former Major League Soccer player who has e out publicly as gay an Instagram post troducg the world to his boyiend. When he me out on Instagram January 2019, he beme the fifth openly gay current or former Major League Soccer player. In June 2018, he me out as gay, makg him the only openly gay player any of the big five Amerin sports leagu or any top-tier profsnal men’s natnal soccer league.

CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE NFL PLAYER, ULD BE TURNG POT FOR MALE SPORTS

Mart, 26, announced the news on Twter, statg that he had been openly gay to his iends and fay for years, but never on such a large sle.

‘I HAVE BEEN FIGHTG MY SEXUALY’: A-LEAGUE MEN PLAYER JOSH CAVALLO OUT AS GAY

Anton has been dubbed the “first high-profile Swedish footballer to announce that he is gay, ” as well as the “send active profsnal football player to e out, ” followg English footballer Jt Fashanu 1990. In December 2017, Davis publicly cricized ments ma by FA chairman Greg Clarke that “profsnal players who out themselv as homosexual would be takg a risk.

The 32-year-old has spoken out to enurage male gay footballers to not be aaid of g out, sharg his own experienc as part of Uefa’s Equal Game mpaign, which aims to promote greater cln and diversy the sport.

He is a retired Amerin soccer player who, after his reer end 2011, beme the first male Amerin profsnal soccer player to e out as gay. Pter experienced homophobia om other players while playg for his lol club and was moted om the first to the fourth team after one of his teammat disvered he was gay.

THERE HAVE BEEN 11 KNOWN GAY PLAYERS NFL HISTORY

When Nashville Predators prospect Le Prokop me out this week, was the first time an active player unr ntract to an NHL team had ever publicly acknowledged they were gay. Overnight, Prokop's announcement doubled the number of out gay athlet currently playg the untry's four major men's sports — football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Though many retired former players have e out, is more unual for male profsnal athlet to say they are gay while still playg.

Gay male athlet face cultural barriers Part of the reason for the lack of out gay players men's profsnal sports uld be that there are jt fewer of them the game. Rory Magrath, a rearcher at Solent Universy England, has suggted that 's possible gay men are unrreprented profsnal sports. "Gay men are a fe rource, so they n't exist great numbers every quarter, " Magrath told "Gay men are overreprented some areas, and as a nsequence are gog to be unrreprented sports.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

That uld be due to the mascule culture at the center of the major sports, experts say, creatg an environment that is ls welg to gay athlet. Magrath helped thor a study that found that male athlet who me out as gay while still playg sports were largely met wh acceptance by their teammat. Robbie Rogers ma history 2013 when he took the field for the Los Angel Galaxy after as the first openly gay player profsnal U.

NBA player Jason Colls, who me out 2013 while he was still playg the league, later told NPR " went great" when he scribed the perd after announcg he was gay. After Michael Sam beme the first openly gay athlete to be drafted to the NFL 2014, then-Miami Dolphs safety Don Jon tweeted "horrible, " rultg penalti and a spensn. David Kopay, a former NFL nng back who me out 1975, was unable to land a profsnal achg job after he announced publicly that he was gay.

There are key differenc the cultur of men's and women's athletics While few active players the major men's sports leagu have e out, many female profsnal athlet have said publicly that they're gay, om U. “I jt want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay, ” the fensive leman for the Las Vegas Rairs said a vio posted to his Instagram acunt Monday. And while someone g out 2021 might not feel like a big al, wh that simple statement, Nassib beme the first openly gay active player NFL that simple statement, Nassib beme the first openly gay active player NFL history.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* OPENLY GAY PRO FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Jags' Maxen is first male Amerin pro sports ach to e out as gay - ESPN .

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