Josh Cavallo: Only openly gay top-flight male footballer says FIFA's 'OneLove' armband ban has ma him feel 'exclud' | CNN

popular gay football player

In 1990, Jt Fashanu beme the first football player to publicly e out as gay. Sce then, only seventeen players have done the same.

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THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB

‘NFL 360’ profil five LGBTQ people wh a sports background, cludg three openly gay football players, on the impact of Nassib g out. * popular gay football player *

Instagram (@ltonunrwood/@byron.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. So, wh more and more football stars g out and thentilly livg their tths, 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 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.

7 GAY NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Very few NFL players have e out as gay - Most of the openly gay NFL players did so after they stopped playg. We list 10 gay players here. * popular gay football player *

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 2013.He 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."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.

TOP 10 GAY NFL PLAYERS WHO ARE TLY INSPIRATNAL

* popular gay football player *

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. "No one should have to live a life crippled by what society thks."Speakg to OutSports, he ntued: "Especially at an HBCU, young Black gay men need an outlet.

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. As the World Cup go on a untry where homosexualy is illegal, many global football fans are havg to reckon wh the sports' soccer remas one of the most popular sports around the world, very few players have been able to e out and enjoy a succsful reer afterwards.

Gay players face prsure om teammat, ownership, ach, and fans over their are some of the men who have e out, fightg those stereotyp, and pavg the way for LGBTQ+ athlet who e after them. Atralian striker Andy Brennan me out as gay 2019, beg the first out gay Atralian male footballer.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

The Alai Uned midfielr announced that he was gay a vio posted to the team's Twter acunt Tuday. * popular gay football player *

He me out 2011, and won the seventh season of Swedish realy show Let's Dance, beg the first out gay person to w. His early clubs knew he was gay, and he me out durg his reer, beg the first pro footballer to do so. In 2014, he beme Bra's hight-profile out, gay player, and was the first out, gay male player to play at Wembley.

20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS

Players on 22 NFL teams have already had an out gay teammate, cludg six players wh the Arizona Cardals. * popular gay football player *

Rogers me out as gay 2013, beg the first out gay man to pete a top North Amerin pro sports league when he played for the LA Galaxy that same year. 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.

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

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. * popular gay football player *

“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.

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

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

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

Amazgly though, of the thoands of men who have stepped onto the field, only a small handful have ever e out as gay.

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

He is an important figure though, as 2014, he was the first openly gay NFL player to be drafted. By marryg Ross, he beme the first openly gay NFL player to enter a same-sex marriage – somethg that has not been seen aga sce.

Sce g out, he has bee a board member at the Gay and Lbian Athletics Foundatn, pl he created an anizatn lled Hate Any Form is Wrong, which mpaigns agast homophobia. But tak guts to e out and reveal one’s genr as gay, which is ually an act of urage a world that is not ndned to accept every genr. Even though has already been three s sce Jt Fashanu first publicly me out as gay, there are only a few of them revealg .

The primary reason behd many gay footballers not revealg their sexualy publicly is fear of homophobia on and off the pch. So, many profsnal leagu, teams, and players are raisg their voic to fight back agast homophobia so that gay footballers don’t face backlash while g out.

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

Now, whout any further ado, let’s list the football players who dared to e out as gay publicly.

Currently, he is the only openly gay football player to play any of the Amerin top 5 major leagu. In 2020, durg the San Diego Loyal match agast Phoneix Risg FC, Mart released a story of homophobic sults directed toward him. One of the hight-profile male football players publicly clarg himself as gay is German footballer Thomas Hzlsperger.

Later, after wng the 2014 MLS Cup, Rodgers also beme the first gay male to w the league tle the USA.

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

In 2019, he was also featured a documentary related to homophobia sports named Standg on the Le.

Anton Hysen is the youngt son of retired Swedish footballer Glenn Hysen and one of the gay players football. Later, he was profiled on Swedish broadstg channel TV4 March 2011 a bate show (Can gays play football too? Likewise, he also participated the 7th edn of the realy TV show Lets Dance and beme the first-ever gay to w the ntt.

The documentary Rise Above is a film on Anton Hysen released 2013 to portray his story as gay.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* POPULAR GAY FOOTBALL PLAYER

7 Gay NFL Football Players .

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