Dallas Cowboys waive Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted, om practice squad - ESPN

Contents:

• THE DALLAS COWBOYS’ LONG GAY & BI HISTORY: 3 OUT ATHLET, SOME GLORY HOLE, A GAY DATG SE & MORE
• BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.
• GAY FORMER DALLAS PLAYER JEFF ROHRER AND HIS HBAND WELED AT COWBOYS RNN
• THIS GAY UPLE IS FEATURED ESPN’S NEW SERI ABOUT DALLAS COWBOY FANS
• GAY FORMER DALLAS COWBOY JEFF ROHRER IS MARRYG HIS BOYIEND THIS SUNDAY
• MICHAEL SAM, FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER, CUT OM DALLAS COWBOYS
• JEFF ROHRER — RETIRED DALLAS COWBOYS LEBACKER — COM OUT AS GAY, REVEALS HE'S GETTG MARRIED
• FORMER COWBOYS LEBACKER OUT AS GAY, ANNOUNC WEDDG

THE DALLAS COWBOYS’ LONG GAY & BI HISTORY: 3 OUT ATHLET, SOME GLORY HOLE, A GAY DATG SE & MORE

To be sure, the Bucs have their own history wh the LGBTQ muny, namely a really gay former logo, a tight end Rob Gronkowski who’s profsed his love for the gays, and the last team RK Rsell played for a regular-season game before g out.

Yet the Cowboys have a ep, rich history wh gay athlet and the LGBTQ muny that we want to highlight head to the NFL season kickoff.

The Cowboys have had at least 3 gay or bi players. Durg his time wh the team, owner Jerry Jon said him beg gay is “a ad issue. Troy Aikman mors, and his own thoughts on choosg to be gay.

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

It’s no secret that gay mors have swirled for years around quarterback-turned-TV-mentator Troy Aikman. Aikman threw fuel on the fire 2015 when he sentially said that he’s chosen to not date men, claimg that beg gay is “a liftyle people choose.

GAY FORMER DALLAS PLAYER JEFF ROHRER AND HIS HBAND WELED AT COWBOYS RNN

Michael Irv leads on acceptance of gay people, same-sex marriage. Years before the legalizatn of same-sex marriage or Michael Sam g out, “The Playmaker” Michael Irv talked about his love for his gay brother and his acceptance of same-sex marriage eply powerful ways.

Then-Cowboys top receiver Dez Bryant talked about his mother beg gay 2010, sayg that he had stggled wh but had eventually e around to beg “fortable” wh . Why ed to hook up gay wboys wh other gay wboys. When the URL was up for ctn about 15 years ago, some people who wanted to create a gay datg se won the bid.

Two gay Cowboys fans were ESPN hs. For a uple of years, one of Outsports most-trafficked stori was a post about two gay Cowboys fans beg highlighted by ESPN.

THIS GAY UPLE IS FEATURED ESPN’S NEW SERI ABOUT DALLAS COWBOY FANS

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.

Jeff Rohrer didn’t thk he uld e out as gay to his Dallas Cowboys teammat the 1980s. Now the former Cowboys lebacker, who me out as gay and married his hband a few years ago, knows his former teammat accept him and his hband for who they are. Gay former Yale football player Jeff Rohrer attends the Yale-Harvard game wh his hband, Joshua Ross.

GAY FORMER DALLAS COWBOY JEFF ROHRER IS MARRYG HIS BOYIEND THIS SUNDAY

Other former Cowboys have publicly exprsed their support for gay rights, cludg Hall of Famer Michael Irv. It’s powerful to see the NFL club emed “Ameri’s team” so posively support a gay former player.

While perceptns of homophobia the NFL persist, the current and former players are monstratg the league is welg. ESPN’s new seri ‘We The Fans: Dallas’ will feature a gay uple about to be married, who have bond over their love for the Dallas Cowboys. Tim Sehon and Jt McCurry, an terracial gay uple om Arlgton, Texas, are diehard Cowboys fans.

MICHAEL SAM, FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER, CUT OM DALLAS COWBOYS

McCurry was teased regularly as other kids high school, cludg his teammat, thought (rrectly) that he was gay. Sehon, on the other hand, wasn’t spected of beg gay on his high school football team.

“She already knew I was gay, ” McCurry said, “but she’s a very good Christian and jt me gettg ready to go toward her wh that, put me an awkward moment bee I didn’t know what to expect om her.

JEFF ROHRER — RETIRED DALLAS COWBOYS LEBACKER — COM OUT AS GAY, REVEALS HE'S GETTG MARRIED

”The kdns of my iends and my fay and my teammat” he said, his voice tremblg, psg between words, dog everythg he uld to exprs the sudn joy that enveloped his new gay life. He had never, while he was playg the NFL for the Cowboys or at any pot durg his marriage to his wife, dated men, had a boyiend or had any kd of gay experience.

FORMER COWBOYS LEBACKER OUT AS GAY, ANNOUNC WEDDG

Jeff Rohrer is a man on a missn to open hearts and mds to gay people. For an after-work cktail at the popular gay Wt Hollywood waterg hole, Tortilla Republic.

“My experience is that people are born gay, and anyone who wants to dispute that I’d be happy to have a nversatn wh them, cludg Mike Pence.

At least at this pot our society, toughns is not associated wh the gay muny. Dpe the perceptn, Rohrer isn’t sure he ever heard a gay slur the Cowboys locker room.