Gay NFL Players List: Rumored, Confirmed Gay Amerin Footballers

are there any nfl players who are gay

"I jt want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay," he said an Instagram vio. "I've been meang to do this for a while now, but I fally feel fortable enough to get off my cht."

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. * are there any nfl players who are 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.

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

Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach a US men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

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.

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

Players on 22 NFL teams have already had an out gay teammate, cludg six players wh the Arizona Cardals. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

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.

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

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

The league, fans and teammat have shown support for gay and bisexual players. So why is so hard for to rema dog the job we love? * are there any nfl players who are gay *

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

THERE HAVE BEEN 11 KNOWN GAY PLAYERS NFL HISTORY

Rairs DE Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay, announcg the news an Instagram post Monday while pledgg $100,000 to the Trevor Project. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

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. 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.

Otherwise, we create a pattern of celebratg an athlete’s bravery while also cuttg their reer off at the exampl offer utnary Michael Sam told the world he was gay, he was drafted the seventh round 2014, the lowt pick of any SEC fensive player of the year.

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

Every U.S. Natnal Football League 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. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

Dpe reachg out several tim, I haven’t spoken to my sports agent aga to this 2021, Carl beme the first NFL player on an active roster to e out as gay.

The announcement today by former Patrts and Chiefs offensive leman Ryan O'Callaghan that he is gay brgs to seven the number of NFL known gay players NFL history who have played a regular season game. In addn, four other players who me out as gay were NFL trag mps, some playg preason gam.

Kopay played wh two teammat who were gay: tight end Jerry Smh and nng back Ray McDonald.

'THE NFL NEED THIS': HOW CARL NASSIB'S G OUT AS GAY N CHANGE FOOTBALL AND SOCIETY

Let’s be clear right om the start. None of the athlet are nfirmed to be gay or anythg like that. The purpose of this list is to go a b more pth about some of the mors that are surro * are there any nfl players who are gay *

Legendary Packers and Redsks ach Vce Lombardi — who had an openly gay brother — knew that some of his players were gay. In the Outsports article on O’Callaghan g out, longtime NFL executive Stt Pli says he has unseled gay NFL players before. He me to natnal attentn as a star of the Browns' "Hard Knocks" appearance 2018, givg fancial advice to teammat and offerg his take on the existence of Missouri lebacker Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted NFL history 2014, when the Rams took him 249th overall.

Former Dallas Cowboys lebacker Jeff Rohrer said Las Vegas Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib uld change the world after beg the first active openly gay NFL player. He played the NFL om 1982 to 1989, and 2018, he me out as gay when he beme what was believed to be the first former or current NFL player to enter to a same-sex marriage.

GAY OR BISEXUAL PLAYERS ON EVERY PRO FOOTBALL TEAM, SAYS FORMER U.S. FOOTBALLER

Carl Nassib is one of only two openly gay active players the history of the four biggt North Amerin sports leagu – the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. Experts say homophobia sports begs at the youth level. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

" Michael Sam me out as gay before beg selected the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft but never played a game the NFL. Former Kansas State player Stt Frantz, the first Power 5 llege football player to pete while openly gay, told USA TODAY Sports he msaged Nassib to exprs his gratu: "Thanks for dog what you did.

EVERY NFL TEAM HAS GAY OR BI PLAYERS, SAYS FORMER PRO FOOTBALLERRYAN O'CALLAGHAN REPORTS REGULARLY HEARG OM CLOSETED PLAYERS WHO FEAR G {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;}NEWSBY JEFF TAYLORAUGT 28, 2019/3:54 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:1696PX;WIDTH:2544PX;}SPORTG NEWS VIA GETTY IMAG VIA GETTY IMAGFOXBOROUGH, MA - NOVEMBER 12: TOM BRADY #12 AND RYAN O'CALLAGHAN #68 OF THE NEW ENGLAND PATRTS STAND ON THE FIELD DURG A GAME AGAST THE NEW YORK JETS ON NOVEMBER 12, 2006 AT GILLETTE STADIUM FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHETTS. (PHOTO BY SPORTG NEWS VIA GETTY IMAG VIA GETTY IMAG)BY JEFF TAYLORAUGT 28, 2019 / 3:54 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"EVERY NFL TEAM HAS GAY OR BI PLAYERS, SAYS FORMER PRO FOOTBALLER","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2019-08-28T19:54:26.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2019-08-28T19:54:26.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","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":"JEFF TAYLOR","KEYWORDS":"SPORTS","ARTICLESECTN":"NEWS"}{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;}THERE ARE "PLENTY OF CLOSETED NFL PLAYERS" ACRDG TO FORMER NEW ENGLAND PATRTS AND KANSAS CY CHIEFS OFFENSIVE LEMAN RYAN O’CALLAGHAN, WHO PUBLICLY ME OUT AS GAY {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;}O'CALLAGHAN (ABOVE, WEARG NUMBER 68), WHO PLAYED THE NFL OM 2006 TO 2011, TOLD RTERS HE HEARS OM CURRENT CLOSETED PROFSNAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS ON A REGULAR BASIS.MICHAEL ZAGARIS/SAN FRANCIS 49ERS/GETTY IMAGKANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 24: ROBBIE GOULD #9 OF THE SAN FRANCIS 49ERS KICKS A FIELD GOAL DURG THE GAME AGAST THE KANSAS CY CHIEFS AT ARROWHEAD STADIUM ON AUGT 24, 2019 KANSAS CY, MISSOURI. THE 49ER FEATED THE BRONS 27-17. (PHOTO BY MICHAEL ZAGARIS/SAN FRANCIS 49ERS/GETTY IMAG){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 THK 'S SAFE TO SAY THERE'S AT LEAST ONE ON EVERY TEAM WHO IS EHER GAY OR BISEXUAL," HE SAID. "A LOT OF GUYS STILL SEE AS POTENTIALLY HAVG A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THEIR REER."{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;}HE THKS MOST ARE WORRIED THEY ULD LOSE SPONSORSHIPS AND POSSIBLY EVEN THEIR SPOT ON A TEAM. HE ADD THAT NTRACT GUARANTE MIGHT HELP, BUT SAID HE DON'T THK ANYTHG WILL REALLY CHANGE UNTIL A HIGH PROFILE PLAYER WHO IS STILL THE LEAGUE {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;}WHILE A HANDFUL OF DIVIDUALS HAVE E OUT AFTER THEIR PLAYG DAYS ME TO AN END, LIKE O'CALLAGHAN, AND THOUGH MICHAEL SAM BEME THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PERSON DRAFTED BY AN NFL TEAM, THE LEAGUE HAS YET TO HAVE AN OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL ATHLETE PLAY A DOWN A REGULAR SEASON {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;}SAM WAS CUT BEFORE THE START OF THE REGULAR SEASON AND WENT ON TO PLAY FOR THE MONTREAL ALOUETT, MAKG HIM THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER THE CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE. HE RETIRED 2015.SPORTG NEWS VIA GETTY IMAG VIA GETTY IMAGEAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 24: NEW ORLEANS SATS QUARTERBACK DREW BRE (9) LOOKS TO PASS THE BALL DURG THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE NATNAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PREASON GAME BETWEEN THE NEW ORLEANS SATS AND THE NEW YORK JETS ON AUGT 24, 2019, AT METLIFE STADIUM EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ. (PHOTO BY GREGORY FISHER/IN SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAG){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;}O'CALLAGHAN STGGLED WH PRSN, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, AND AN ADDICTN TO PAKILLERS, WHICH HE WAS HELPED THROUGH BY A CHIEFS' PSYCHOLOGIST. THAT SAME PSYCHOLOGIST ALSO HELPED HIM FD THE STRENGTH TO E OUT TO HIS {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 JT DON'T THK PEOPLE UNRSTAND THE REALY," HE SAID. "WE N STILL GET FIRED FOR BEG GAY OR NIED SERVIC FOR BEG TRANS."WLEY HT/GETTY IMAGKANSAS CITY, MO - SEPTEMBER 20: RYAN O'CALLAGHAN #75 OF THE KANSAS CY CHIEFS ON THE SIL DURG A GAME AGAST THE OAKLAND RAIRS AT ARROWHEAD STADIUM ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2009 KANSAS CY, MISSOURI. THE RAIRS FEATED THE CHIEFS 13-10. (PHOTO BY WLEY HT/GETTY IMAG){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;}O'CALLAGHAN DURG HIS PLAYG DAYS WH 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;}HIS UPG BOOK, MY LIFE ON THE LE: HOW THE NFL DAMN NEAR KILLED ME AND END UP SAVG MY LIFE, AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 3, OUTL HIS STGGL AND HIS JOURNEY THROUGH THEM TO THE SELF-ACCEPTANCE HE HAS SCE BEEN ABLE TO DISVER WH HIMSELF. PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS SUPPORTG THE RYAN O'CALLAGHAN FOUNDATN, WHICH HE SET UP TO PROVI SCHOLARSHIPS AND MENTORSHIP TO YOUNG LGBTQ {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;}"YOU HAVE TO EXPLA TO [THEM], '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 {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

Le Prokop ma history Monday, beg the first player unr ntract to an NHL team to e out as gay. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

" "Comg out as gay is gog to ntue to be a big al or news story for athlet until 's a regular occurrence, " said Ryan O'Callaghan, who me out after retirg 2017. "Players feel that all of the sudn mararie wh several players disappear bee of beg gay.

Bee fai have disowned players when they e out, and people act ways that are so sadly disappotg when they hear you're gay.

TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY

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. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

But spe homophobic language still prevalent locker room culture, Saraf said, teammat probably won't be a ncern for Nassib.

Natnal Football League 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 publicly sharg his sexual orientatn 2017, O’Callaghan said he regularly hears om closeted current profsnal football players. Male sports leagu, progrs has been player Robbie Rogers beme the first openly gay athlete actively playg U. 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 10 have e out first was David Kopay, now 77, who opened up about his sexualy 1975, three years after retirg.

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. “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.

NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS

* are there any nfl players who are gay *

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. 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. 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.

PREDATORS PROSPECT PROKOP OUT AS GAY, MAK NHL HISTORY

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. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

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.

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

Gay NFL players. Rumored or out homosexual or gay Amerin football players wh the Natnal Football League. List clus retired and current NFL jocks. * are there any nfl players who are gay *

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.

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.

CARL NASSIB IS THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO COME OUT AS GAY

"Speakg to OutSports, he ntued: "Especially at an HBCU, young Black gay men need an outlet. There are "plenty of closeted NFL players" acrdg to former New England Patrts and Kansas Cy Chiefs offensive leman Ryan O’Callaghan, who publicly me out as gay 2017. "I thk 's safe to say there's at least one on every team who is eher gay or bisexual, " he said.

He add that ntract guarante might help, but said he don't thk anythg will really change until a high profile player who is still the league a handful of dividuals have e out after their playg days me to an end, like O'Callaghan, and though Michael Sam beme the first openly gay person drafted by an NFL team, the league has yet to have an openly gay or bisexual athlete play a down a regular season was cut before the start of the regular season and went on to play for the Montreal Alouett, makg him the first openly gay player the Canadian Football League. The purpose of this list is to go a b more pth about some of the mors that are surroundg the players, not to nvce the rear that the athlet are gay. In fact, as society is now much more open to people no matter their orientatn, we have seen a ton more athlet, both active and retired, e out and adm that they are homosexuals, and 's absolutely a great thg.

This list will look at some of the most high profile exampl of pro athlet who have had mors about beg gay surroundg them, but aga, none of those are nfirmed and even if they were nfirmed, they would be somethg to celebrate.

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

His ex-wife has acced him of beg gay and that Dunn’s lover om llege actually lived wh them for the first few years of their marriage. This mor was that a member of the New York Mets was gay and people were speculatg that was Piazza.

Qutns about Aikman's sexual orientatn have been around for s and the mor was started by Skip Bayls, when, his book, he stated that Troy Aikman might be gay. The Las Vegas Rairs fensive end is now jt one of two openly gay active players the history of the four biggt North Amerin sports leagu (the Natnal Football League, Natnal Basketball Associatn, Major League Baseball and the Natnal Hockey League). Homophobic language is still a regular feature of playg on a boys’ sports team the US and abroad, Denison’s rearch shows – one of his studi found that more than half of the ice hockey and gby players he terviewed said they’d ed slurs.

Regular exposure to slurs or stereotyp eventually rerc among players that their succs as an athlete is tied to an ia of masculy that exclus gay men, he said.

7 GAY NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Denison scribed what he lls a “cycle of excln” that begs when a boy hears ach or olr players e homophobic language and observ a “posive rponse” to that behavr – maybe they lgh at each other, or the ach don’t challenge them, he said. That sends the msage that homophobic language is harmls and OK to e – and cements the assumptn that all members of the team are heterosexual. Gay players on those teams may also e the language as a shield to hi their sexualy and nform wh their team, Denison said.

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“We often fd that male ach ntue to e homophobic language and teach nformy to this tough mascule athlete inty that don’t really exist, ” he said. As a child, before Davis unrstood what meant to be LGBTQ, he was already absorbg the norms beg set around him durg practice – that “beg gay those walls was unsafe, that [he] would be danger. And by the time he was an NFL locker room, he said he didn’t hear homophobic slurs beg ed, but sexist on.

Insert someone who’s gay … and you fely want to have domn over this gay person, and you actually don’t want them your space. Quali players necsary for succs football – domance, aggrsn and, ocsnally, vlence – are often associated wh homophobia and sexism, too. So whether or not a male athlete actually holds sexist or homophobic views, featur of both are often baked to his sport.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* ARE THERE ANY NFL PLAYERS WHO ARE GAY

Carl Nassib of Las Vegas Rairs announc he is gay, pledg $100,000 to Trevor Project - ESPN .

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