Meet the 16 out gay and bi players NFL history - Outsports

Contents:

• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
• JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY
• RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST
• CARL NASSIB IS THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO COME OUT AS GAY
• 7 GAY NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS
• RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB OUT AS GAY, THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO DO SO
• THE 39 CURRENT NFL PLAYERS HAVE ALL PLAYED WH AN OUT GAY TEAMMATE
• THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB
• CARL NASSIB OF LAS VEGAS RAIRS IS FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO ANNOUNCE HE IS GAY
• CARL NASSIB, FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER, TO BE RELEASED BY RAIRS
• CARL NASSIB OUT AS 1ST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE NFL PLAYER
• CARL NASSIB, FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER NFL GAME, MAK HISTORY AND STARS THRILLG LAS VEGAS RAIRS W
• CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY N.F.L. PLAYER, HAS BEEN A FOOTBALL EVERYMAN
• CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE NFL PLAYER, ULD BE TURNG POT FOR MALE SPORTS
• BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.
• CARL NASSIB OF LAS VEGAS RAIRS ANNOUNC HE IS GAY, PLEDG $100,000 TO TREVOR PROJECT

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

-- 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.

Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach a US men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay. Per Outsports, as of September 2022, there have only ever been 16 players NFL history to publicly e out as gay or bisexual.

Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player league history to announce that he is gay 2021. Per Outsports, Maxen is the “first publicly out male ach a major Amerin men’s pro sports league, ” wh WNBA ach Curt Miller, who publicly me out to the media as gay 2015, also a publicly out male ach an Amerin profsnal sports league.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

The NFL has played for more than 100 years and there have been 16 gay or bi players to e out publicly. Over the years, Outsports has known of a few other players who are gay but have never e out, even when retired. Jenks is gay and this was the the first time he wily discsed his sexual orientatn.

No NFL ach had ever publicly e out as gay, so Maxen, an assistant strength and ndng ach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, kept quiet about his sexual that ma him angry — at himself. Former San Francis 49ers offensive assistant Katie Sowers beme the NFL’s first ach to e out as gay 2017.

Acrdg to the article, Maxen ma his cisn to do so last year and reached out for advice om Carl Nassib, who 2021 beme the NFL’s first out gay active player as a member of the Las Vegas was Nassib who put Maxen ntact wh Outsports. Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. Perkz/@rlnassib/@rkrelentls)When Kansas State offensive tackle and NFL hopeful Stt Frantz me out to the natn as gay, 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.

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

Here's a list of players llege and pro ball who have proved you n be gay or bi and still n the gntlet. Roy "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.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS 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. Cornerback 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.

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. He later cled to sign wh the Tennsee Tans and Dallas Cowboys before g out as gay at 24, he told Philalphia Magaze revealed to the magaze that he'd dated a male cheerlear at Purdue who had threatened to out him then. He would later move to San Francis and jo the Fog, a gay gby team, and pen a g-out blog post 2015.

Wyatt Pertet, a special teams player and receiver for Capal Universy, will be a sophomore this season. The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April of 2021, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

"He wanted everyone to know he was "still the same Colton everybody met on TV" and is "proud to be gay.

The Rairs leman ma NFL history durg Pri Month 2021 when he me out as gay a heartfelt Instagram post, beg the first active NFL player to e out as member of the LGBTQ+ muny.

The Hampton Universy player ma history October of 2022 when he me out as gay an Instagram Story post, beg the first out gay football player at a Historilly Black College or Universy. "Speakg to OutSports, he ntued: "Especially at an HBCU, young Black gay men need an outlet.

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

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTRairs’ Carl Nassib Announc He’s Gay, an N. 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.

ViotranscripttranscriptCarl Nassib Be First Openly Gay Active N. “I jt want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay, ” Nassib said a vio posted to his Instagram acunt.

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. L., and mak him the first openly gay active player the league’s 101-year history.

CARL NASSIB IS THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO COME OUT 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.

7 GAY NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

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. 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. Players had prevly announced publicly that they were gay, but all after their playg reers were over.

RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB OUT AS GAY, THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO DO SO

David Kopay beme the first pro football player to publicly e out as gay 1975, three years after he retired. 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. Simmons also said he never would have clared himself gay durg the four seasons he played for the N.

”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. ”San Francis nng back Garrison Hearst apologized 2002 for g a slur and sayg he wouldn’t want a gay player as a teammate.

His ment me after the former Mnota Vikgs player Esera Tuaolo publicly me out as gay that year after he had retired.

THE 39 CURRENT NFL PLAYERS HAVE ALL PLAYED WH AN OUT GAY TEAMMATE

Players like Brendon Ayanbajo, who played wh the Baltimore Ravens, fend same-sex marriage and gay rights and supported Sam at the time. Carl Nassib Is The First Active NFL Player To Come Out As Gay "I jt want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay, " he said an Instagram vio. Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib said on Monday that he would not have been able to publicly e out as gay whout the support of the NFL and his teammat.

THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB

" "I jt want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay, " Nassib said an Instagram vio he posted on his verified Instagram acunt. " Nassib is by no means the first gay football player the NFL, but he is the first openly gay active player the league to play the regular season. Michael Sam me out as gay followg his succsful llege reer and before the 2014 NFL draft, makg him the first publicly gay player to be drafted the NFL.

Many NFL players have nfsed beg gay football players after retirement. In 2014, Michael Sam a llege football player publicly me out as a gay football player.

CARL NASSIB OF LAS VEGAS RAIRS IS FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO ANNOUNCE HE IS GAY

If he achiev this feat, he will bee the first active gay football player the NFL.

Here we take a look at all the other gay football players who played the NFL. In 1975 he beme the first profsnal NFL football player to e out as gay. He is a board member of the Gay and Lbian Athletics Foundatn and is also the Gay Gam Ambassador of the Feratn of Gay Gam.

CARL NASSIB, FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER, TO BE RELEASED BY RAIRS

Smh never ma public about his homosexualy but later after his ath, was nfirmed by his relativ that he was a gay.

In 1992, he clared himself a homosexual on The Phil Donahue Show. In 2002, Esera Tuaolo former NFL football player publilly clared to be a gay. He beme the third NFL player to e out as a gay, after David Kopay and Roy Simmons.

He has also ttified at the State Legislature Senate Judiciary Commtee hearg opposn to an anti-gay-marriage bill.

CARL NASSIB OUT AS 1ST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE NFL PLAYER

Wa Davis the former NFL fensive back me out of his closet 2012, clarg himself to be a gay. Davis is a board member of the New York Gay Football League and of the Gay, Lbian and Straight Edutn Network sport-advisory. Soon his parents cid to send Harris away om his hometown for further tn to hi is homosexual his retirement om Amerin football, Kwame Harris 2013 publilly revealed of beg a homosexual an terview wh CNN.

CARL NASSIB, FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER NFL GAME, MAK HISTORY AND STARS THRILLG LAS VEGAS RAIRS W

Carl Nassib #94 of the Las Vegas Rairs celebrat a 31-26 w over the Los Angel Chargers at SoFi Stadium on November 08, 2020 Inglewood, How | Getty ImagLas Vegas Rairs fensive leman Carl Nassib announced on Monday that he is gay, beg the first player on an active Natnal Football League roster to e out. "I jt wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay, " Nassib said an Instagram post. We wish Carl the bt of luck this g season, " NFL Commissner Roger Gooll said a 2014, Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be selected the NFL draft when the St.

Sam was cut jt before the regular season Colls, who is now retired, beme the first active openly gay NBA player 2013. Some people still believe that the NFL is a “homophobic” monolh where ’s “dangero” to be gay.

Dpe Outsports chroniclg lerally dozens of piec of evince to the ntrary, there’s a ntued belief amongst some that NFL players would overwhelmgly reject a gay player if he me out.

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

So we set out to figure out how many current NFL players have already played on the same team wh an out gay teammate.

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

We found 39 current NFL players, who were on a roster for the 2020 season, who have already had an out gay teammate.

In addn, dozens of other players have played agast an opponent they knew to be gay. The 39 current NFL players have played wh at least five gay or bisexual men who were out to their team while they were on the same team.

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

The Arizona Cardals have the most players we know have played wh an out gay teammate. At least six of the players on the Cardals’ 2020 roster — about 10% of the team, — has already had a gay teammate they knew of.

And they have llectively played llege wh all five out gay players. Wh that experience, solid veteran learship, a ach Kliff Kgsbury who has ld gay football player Stt Frantz, and a ont office that has monstrated an embrace of LGBTQ people, is easy to make the se that an out gay player wh the Cardals would be weled.

Of urse many other NFL players have played wh a gay or bi teammate before they me out (e.

CARL NASSIB OF LAS VEGAS RAIRS ANNOUNC HE IS GAY, PLEDG $100,000 TO TREVOR PROJECT

The are the current NFL players to have played wh an out gay or bi man on their team (wh that team and their current team listed):. If you thk I’ve missed a current NFL player who’s played wh an out gay or bi teammate, be sure to leave the rmatn the ments below. The subject was the impact of Carl Nassib g out as gay the NFL for the Las Vegas Rairs.

Matea offensive leman Jake Strer, who is gay, is one of five current or former LGBTQ athlet profiled. “When I returned to football my sophomore year after g out was bee I knew that if I qu football was jt the begng of thgs I would qu or hold myself back om bee I was gay, ” Strer told Outsports. “To fast forward to my last football game my senr year and have end wh ‘NFL 360’ there to clu me a story celebratg the first openly gay football player NFL history is still really unbelievable to me.

EST, we see scen of Strer’s last game as a Matea Mtang, terspersed wh him speakg about beg gay football and what Nassib’s g out meant to him. Their experienc are universal, ways good and bad, for many LGBTQ people — Pick talkg about the pa om the ial rejectn by her mom; O’Callaghan discsg suicidal thoughts before beg rcued by a therapist; Rapoport’s touchg rellectn of g out to NFL Commissner Roger Gooll by approachg him at a Super Bowl event holdg her girliend’s hand and Gooll’s se upon seeg ; Saffold discsg growg up Black and gay on the South Si of Chigo “where there are rampant levels of homophobia” and Strer on how he ed to worry “about how bad my life might be after I me out. “I thk 11- or 12-year-old kids playg football prr to Carl Nassib g out didn’t thk there uld be a gay football player, ” Rapoport said.