Ex-Hoton Oilers say they had gay teammat; was 'no big al' - Los Angel Tim

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At least two members of the 1993 Hoton Oilers were gay and apparently didn't try too hard to hi om the rt of the team.

Contents:

TWO KEY MEMBERS OF THE 1993 HOTON OILERS WERE GAY

Teammat and team executiv knew about the gay players and everyone got along jt fe. * gay houston oilers *

At least two members of the famo 1993 Hoton Oilers were gay, and many players on the team knew , acrdg to a report om the Hoton Chronicle. While I doubt the straight players were marchg on the state pal for LGBT equaly, they had gay teammat, they didn't re, and they saw the teammat as posive ntributors on the field first and foremost.

Former Oiler great Warren Moon prevly said he played wh a gay teammate, so there is some rroboratn to this story. The Oilers beme the Tennsee Tans shortly after that season, and many Tans have exprsed support for their openly gay former teammate, Wa Davis. We're all eagerly wag for the pro-athlete closet to be dismantled for good, but let's not fet that gay men have been quietly playg the NFL, NBA and MLB all along: Members of the 1993 Hoton Oilers have e forward a recent terview and stated that at least two teammat were wily known to be gay, and the team didn't have a real problem wh .

HOTON OILERS HAD AT LEAST TWO GAY PLAYERS, FORMER TEAMMAT {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}LIFEBY DAN AVERYDECEMBER 26, 2013/11:46 PMBY DAN AVERYDECEMBER 26, 2013 / 11:46 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"HOTON OILERS HAD AT LEAST TWO GAY PLAYERS, FORMER TEAMMAT SAY","DATEPUBLISHED":"2013-12-27T04:46:58.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2013-12-27T04:46:58.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"DAN AVERY","ARTICLESECTN":"LIFE"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WE'RE ALL EAGERLY WAG FOR THE PRO-ATHLETE CLOSET TO BE DISMANTLED FOR GOOD, BUT LET'S NOT FET THAT GAY MEN HAVE BEEN QUIETLY PLAYG THE NFL, NBA AND MLB ALL ALONG: MEMBERS OF THE 1993 HOTON OILERS HAVE E FORWARD A RECENT TERVIEW AND STATED THAT AT LEAST TWO TEAMMAT WERE WILY KNOWN TO BE GAY, AND THE TEAM DIDN'T HAVE A REAL PROBLEM WH {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“EVERYBODY THE LOCKER ROOM, THE NSENS KNEW OR HAD AN IA THAT THGS WERE NOT EXACTLY RIGHT," FORMER OILERS LEBACKER LAMAR LATHON TOLD THE HOTON CHRONICLE. "BUT GUS WHAT? WHEN THEY STRAPPED THE PADS ON AND GOT ON THE FIELD, MAN, WE WERE GOG TO WAR WH THE GUYS BEE THEY WERE UNBELIEVABLE.” LATHON LLED THE UNNAMED PLAYERS  "UNBELIEVABLE TEAMMAT" AND SISTG THAT "IF YOU WANTED TO GO TO WAR WH SOMEONE, YOU WOULD GET THOSE GUYS FIRST."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}[PTN ID="ATTACHMENT_137434" ALIGN="ALIGNRIGHT" WIDTH="239"] WARREN MOON WH THE HOTON OILERS. (PHOTO: GETTY IMAG)[/PTN]{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE REVELATN IS ALL THE MORE STUNNG GIVEN THAT THE 1993 OILERS HAVE BEEN LLED THE MOST DYSFUNCTNAL PRO FOOTBALL TEAM NFL HISTORY: THE TEAM HAD A ROCKY START BUT WON 11 STRAIGHT GAM THAT YEAR, THE LONGT THE NFL SCE 1972. BUT THEY LOST ABYSMALLY THE FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFFS TO JOE MONTANA AND THE KANSAS CY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}RUMORS ABOUT THE TUMULTUO TEAM CIRCULATED THE MEDIA AT THE TIME: ERNT GIVENS, WHO PLAYED WH THE OILERS THE 1990S WAS THE SUBJECT OF GAY MORS, BUT NIED THEM TO ESPN 1998. (DEFENSIVE TACKLE JEFF ALM WAS, TOO, WHEN HE MTED SUICI AFTER KILLG HIS BT IEND A DNK-DRIVG ACCINT 1993.){BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I KNOW OF A UPLE OF PLAYERS WHO I WON'T MENTN THEIR NAM BEE THEY HAVE NOT MA PUBLIC YET," HALL OF FAMER WARREN MOON ANNOUNCED ON THE VICTOR AND MATT SPORTS PODST 2011. "IT REALLY DON’T BOTHER ME WHAT YOUR SEXUAL PREFERENCE IS AS LONG AS YOU DON’T BRG YOUR SEXUAL PREFERENC TO THE LOCKER ROOM... AS LONG AS YOU'RE G TO THE FOOTBALL TEAM AND BRGG A POSIVE FLUENCE, THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}DISHMAN ADD THE TWO PLAYERS BEG DISCSED NOW WERE ACPLISHED ON THE FIELD, AND SAID SHOWERG WH THEM WAS  “NO BIG AL.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SO THE LSON IS PRO TEAMS WILL EAGERLY ACCEPT A GAY PLAYER—IF HE'S AN {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

Two players on the 1993 Hoton Oilers were gay, and their teammat knew and didn't re, acrdg to the Hoton Chronicle. * gay houston oilers *

But they lost abysmally the first-round playoffs to Joe Montana and the Kansas Cy about the tumultuo team circulated the media at the time: Ernt Givens, who played wh the Oilers the 1990s was the subject of gay mors, but nied them to ESPN 1998.

”So the lson is pro teams will eagerly accept a gay player—if he's an MVP.

Two players on the 1993 Hoton Oilers were gay, and their teammat knew and didn't re, acrdg to the Hoton Chronicle. Najee Harris ments on Saquon Barkley and the value of RBsOffEnglishThe Chronicle has a big feature g this Sunday on the 1993 team, but a preview released today, reveals that there were players that "everybody knew" were gay, acrdg to former Pro-Bowler Cris Dishman, but that wasn't an issue the locker room.

THE HOTON OILERS HAD TWO (MOSTLY) OPENLY GAY PLAYERS IN 1993

Former Hoton Oilers players says the 1993 roster was okay wh two spected gay teammat, but their ments aren't as supportive as they've been ma to seem. * gay houston oilers *

Here's the money quote om today's preview:Not only did the team know about the suatn, but players accepted their gay teammat and did not outst them. Football players n be gay and functn perfectly well wh an NFL locker room.

Two members of 1993 Oilers were gay; teammat knew, didn’t re. Former Hoton Oilers players says the 1993 roster was okay wh two spected gay teammat, but their ments aren't as supportive as they've been ma to Hoton Oilers 1994. (AP / Lynn Sladky)The Hoton Chronicle ran a 9, 000-word oral history of the 1993 Hoton Oilers last week, and ments om former players Lamar Lathon and Bubba McDowell regardg gay teammat, a ty part of the story, garnered the most attentn om natnal the Chronicle:McDowell: “Everybody knew certa guys [were gay].

THE NFL'S BEEN OKAY WH GAY PLAYERS FOR 20 YEARS? YEAH RIGHT

Across the Texas oil and gas dtry, lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr workers stggle to navigate the workplace where acceptance, openns and * gay houston oilers *

”As more and more retired athlet have e out recent years, homosexualy and spots has bee a high-profile topic lately.

Sce this story surfaced, Lathon’s and McDowell’s ments have been ced as support for the ia that NFL might be ready for openly gay players. Sports, for example, led s verage by sayg “The topic of whether a gay player would be accepted a NFL locker room is probably overblown. ”Remend ReadgWhile that seems to be the general takeaway om the Chronicle piece, some have treated as a evince that locker rooms have been reasonably iendly environments for gay players for two s.

GAY WORKERS AT TEXAS OIL COMPANI FACE CHOICE BETWEEN ‘PRCIPLE AND PAYCHECK’

The topic of whether a gay player would be accepted a NFL locker room is probably overblown. Players like teammat who n help them w. The rt is trivial. This is shown by the 1993 Hoton Oilers. The Hoton … Contue readg → * gay houston oilers *

The New York Daily News opened s story, “The qutn of whether the NFL is ready for a gay player was already answered 20 years ago. The language ed—vague ments alludg to tchg them the proverbial closet durg hotel stays and lunch breaks, and most of the team knowg “thgs were not exactly right”—tells a different story, one where homosexualy was kd of, sort of, but not exactly, okay. It sounds like beg gay was only excable bee was kept somewhat secret and bee those guys were beasts on the that Lathon and McDowell are the only players quoted, we don’t really get a full picture of what happened.

TWO PLAYERS ON THE 1993 HOTON OILERS WERE GAY, AND MOST OF THEIR TEAMMAT DIDN'T CARE

The qutn of whether the NFL is ready for a gay player was already answered 20 years ago. Two members of the 1993 Hoton Oilers were not only gay but accepted whout any problems by their teammat, former players told the Hoton Chronicle. * gay houston oilers *

Still, if the ments are te—that generally no big issu arose om havg (somewhat closeted) gay players the locker room, uld shed light on what might be like for the first active player who cis to e the ments om another member of that 1993 Oilers team offers a different visn of what life might have been like for a gay player the ‘90s, and by extensn, what uld look like today. For years, Ernt Givs, a two-time Pro-Bowl receiver, was acced of beg gay. But when you start stereotypg athlet, start puttg that gay thg on them, that hurts more than anythg.

Regardls of whether he was one of the athlet McDowell and Lathon were talkg about, he pated a much bleaker picture of what was like to be a (actual or imaged) gay football player at the time: Beg a crimal and puttg liv at risk was more acceptable than lovg another Lathon’s and McDowell’s ments aren’t proof that the NFL has been ready for gay players for 20 years.

They’re, at bt, jt another remr of how far the NFL, and profsnal sports general, still has to go when to acceptg gay was always slightly ahead of the tim when me to social progrs, and many ways has been a platform for men and women to break racial and cultural barriers before those barriers were broken wir society. But, at a time when 18 stat have legalized gay marriage, and when we have openly gay teachers, rporate CEOs, and policians, sports is, perhaps for the first time, behd the rt of the culture the move towards openns and one of the four major US sports has an openly gay athlete currently playg. Rhos, who ni he’s gay, has explibly found himself out of the league, and ’s hard to image ’s bee of lack of talent—he’s one of the bt the Febary, San Francis 49ers rnerback Chris Culliver was wily cricized for makg homophobic ments, sayg “a’t got no gay people on the team.

THE 1993 HOTON OILERS HAD AT LEAST TWO GAY PLAYERS, FORMER TEAMMAT SAY

HOUSTON -- Lately the discsn of gay NFL players don't ask if there are any, but rather centers around when a gay player would feel fortable enough to make his sexual orientatn public. * gay houston oilers *

”The cricism of Culliver pots toward the league’s movement away om s former reputatn as a bastn of homophobia. Culliver’s “sweet stuff” ments show the root of the difficulty for gay athlet: Too many people are stuck on the ridiculo notn that toughns (or weakns) directly rrponds to sexual orientatn.

He hasn’t played a game sce October, and ’s unclear whether he’ll ever take the field a sport nsired to be Ameri’s apex of manls, where masculy n be seen as directly rrelated wh sexual orientatn, ’s not surprisg that gay players rema reluctant to speak up, pecially when uld mean their job. “Thgs were not exactly right, ” was how Lathon phrased his spicn that those two players back ’93 were gay, but he might as well have been talkg about the league self—then and now. Across the Texas oil and gas dtry, lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr workers stggle to navigate the workplace where acceptance, openns and rpect n vary wily.

TWO EX-HOTON OILERS WERE GAY AND ACCEPTED BY TEAMMAT, ACRDG TO REPORT

HOUSTON -- Lately the discsn of gay NFL players don't ask if there are any, but rather centers around when a gay player would feel fortable enough to make his sexual orientatn public. * gay houston oilers *

“The biggt fear is tim like this when the oil price is down, and I wonr, ‘Am I gog to be let go bee I'm openly gay? Gaspari is sug his former employer, Hoton-based FMC Technologi, for alleged anti-gay discrimatn. “It's a place to do your work and go home, ” one gay man his 20s, who works at Halliburton's rporate offic, told the Chronicle.

“There's an awful lot of people here whose world began 6, 000 years ago, ” said one gay employee om an oil firm  Midland.

NEWS FLASH: There have been some profsnal athlet the past (other than guys like Jason Colls) who have been gay. But whether you want to believe or not, there have been gay pro athlet—lots and lots of gay pro athlet—that have participated all sports the past.

PRIVATELY GAY HOTON OILERS NOT SURPRISG

* gay houston oilers *

That "news" is that two members—or, better yet, at least two members—of the 1993 Hoton Oilers were gay. Most of their teammat really didn't re about know all of this bee the Hoton Chronicle is gog to publish a story about the 1993 Hoton Oilers on Sunday—that 1993 team was the team that famoly lost a playoff game to the Buffalo Bills after leadg 28-3 at halftime—and, while nductg terviews for the story, the Chronicle disvered that the '93 Oilers had at least two gay players on the team. ""Everybody knew certa guys [were gay], " former Oilers rnerback Cris Dishman yet, that Oilers team was still credibly hive, still had lots of succs, and is still remembered the Hoton area.

PRIVATELY GAY HOTON OILERS NOT SURPRISG

The two gay players were accepted as "unbelievable teammat" the locker room, acrdg to a report. * gay houston oilers *

Even though, you know, they had a uple of gay players on the team. (Sibar: We unrstand why hasn't happened, but 's still amazg that, this day and age, there are no openly gay players the NFL. RELATED: Hall of Shame: A Recent History of Homophobia SportsRELATED: A Gay NFL Player Is Reportedly Thkg About Comg Out Soon[via Hoton Chronicle].

EX-HOTON OILERS SAY THEY HAD GAY TEAMMAT; WAS ‘NO BIG AL’

At least two members of the 1993 Hoton Oilers were gay and apparently didn't try too hard to hi om the rt of the team. * gay houston oilers *

The topic of whether a gay player would be accepted a NFL locker room is probably overblown. The Hoton Chronicle ran a tremendo oral history on that wild season and team ('s excellent, check out, as was the NFL Network's "A Football Life" episo on the '93 Oilers), and there's a revelatn that the Oilers had at least two gay nobody thought was a big al. Here are a uple of quot om the Chronicle's story:"Everybody knew certa guys (were gay).

1993 HOTON OILERS HAD 2 GAY PLAYERS ON ROSTER, FORMER TEAMMAT SAY

”"Listen, those (gay) guys that we’re talkg about were unbelievable teammat, " lebacker Lamar Lathon said.

”To thk that the 1993 Oilers are the only NFL team that had a gay player or two is naive. No active NFL player has e out as gay (the gay players on the '93 Oilers weren't intified), but maybe that's not as much about the locker room as we thk. The qutn of whether the NFL is ready for a gay player was already answered 20 years members of the 1993 Hoton Oilers were not only gay but accepted whout any problems by their teammat, former players told the Hoton Chronicle.

Although the unintified players weren't pletely out the locker room, their sexual preference was hardly a well-kept Colls be the first active NBA player to e out as gay April 2013.

EX-HOTON OILERS SAY THEY HAD GAY TEAMMAT; WAS ‘NO BIG AL’

"Former rnerback Cris Dishman also spoke highly of his gay Oilers teammat, addg that sharg a locker room or showerg next to them was "no big al.

""Everybody knew certa guys (were gay). They'd leave at lunchtime and then e back, " Dishman gay soccer player Robbie Rogers is a member of the Los Angel Galaxy. (DANNY MOLOSHOK/REUTERS)No active NFL player has ever e out as homosexual, although headway has been ma other profsnal Pstripe ExprsWeeklyThe Daily News sports edors handpick the week’s bt Yanke stori om our award-wng lumnists and beat wrers.

'93 OILERS SAY TEAM HAD GAY TEAMMAT, WAS 'NO BIG AL'

In April, NBA center Jason Colls beme the first active player any of the untry's four major sports to clare he was gay. Natnal Soccer Team member Robbie Rogers, currently of MLS club Los Angel Galaxy, me out on his personal 's jt a matter of time before an NFL star do the same thg, acrdg to some of the league's pro-gay activists.

49ers CB Chris Culliver rips the ia of havg a gay teammate but later apologiz for his remarks.

"As a profsnal football player, whether you know or not, you have played eher wh or agast a gay player.

1993 HOTON OILERS HAD 2 GAY PLAYERS ON ROSTER, FORMER TEAMMAT SAY

"Still, not everyone the NFL has been very receptive to the ia of playg alongsi a gay teammate. "We don't got no gay people on the team, " San Francis 49ers CB Chris Culliver said on media day Super Bowl XLVII.

Northwtern Universy graduateHOUSTON -- Lately the discsn of gay NFL players don't ask if there are any, but rather centers around when a gay player would feel fortable enough to make his sexual orientatn 's a good shift. It dit the dissipatn of stereotyp which might have led some the past to believe a gay man uldn't possibly be part of the uber-macho sport of football, and good enough to reach s hight also dit personal acceptance, even if the ia of g out to strangers and beg a major news story might be dntg for such a personal 's plenty of anecdotal evince that gay men have played the NFL.

One such piece today om a Hoton Chronicle story which members of the 1993 Hoton Oilers said they had two gay teammat. ”The headle of this story foc on two aspects 1) that two members of that famo team were gay and 2) that the team as a whole didn't 's post is jt part of a bigger project the Chronicle is workg on for this weekend.

THE THREE GAYT LOGOS NFL HISTORY

In , two players are quoted as sayg they had no issue wh their gay teammat.

Lathon ed the phrase "not exactly right" regard to his gay teammat, even while plimentg their toughns.

Even today, when homosexualy is more wily accepted than at any other time Amerin history, ocsnally a player will reveal his antipathy for playg wh a hypothetilly gay teammate.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY HOUSTON OILERS

The three gayt logos NFL history - Outsports.

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