In 1990, Jt Fashanu beme the first football player to publicly e out as gay. Sce then, only seventeen players have done the same.
Contents:
- MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
- 7 GAY NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS
- 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
- THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB
- JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’
- ‘I HAVE BEEN FIGHTG MY SEXUALY’: A-LEAGUE MEN PLAYER JOSH CAVALLO OUT AS GAY
- BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.
- GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS HE WOULD BE ‘SRED’ TO PLAY AT THE 2022 WORLD CUP QATAR
- 20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS
- CARL NASSIB OF LAS VEGAS RAIRS IS FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO ANNOUNCE HE IS GAY
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. * gay football player pictures *
Over the years, Outsports has known of a few other players who are gay but have never e out, even when retired. When Kansas State offensive tackle and NFL hopeful Stt Frantz me out to the natn as gay last week, 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 two gay players takg the field the top tier of llege football this season, has the future fally charged onto the turf?
7 GAY NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS
Here's a list of gay players who ma to the end zone. * gay football player pictures *
Here's a list of players llege and pro ball who have proved you n be gay or bi and still n the KopayRunng back Dave Kopay, who signed wh the San Francis 49ers 1964, would play for five teams before hangg up his jersey 1972. Coach Vce Lombardi had apparently nfid Smh that he knew of his sexualy but would never let impact him negatively; Lombardi's brother was also gay. Yet he nspicuoly has never been ducted to the NFL Hall of SimmonsRoy "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.
8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
Perks, who plays fensive back for Hampton Universy, beme the first gay football player to ever e out publicly at an HBCU. * gay football player pictures *
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. He would e out to HBO Sports 2002, where he discsed lghg off gay jok and slurs for years while he played DavisCornerback 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.
THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB
* gay football player pictures *
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.
Michael SamThe world took notice 2014 when All-Amerin fensive end Michael Sam me out as gay to ESPN while still llege. He did end up playg two years wh the Montreal Alouett, makg him the first openly gay player the history of the Canadian Football BryantA Purdue alum who gaed more yards than any other non-Heisman Trophy wner Big Ten history, Dorien Bryant failed to get drafted 2008.
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 would later move to San Francis and jo the Fog, a gay gby team, and pen a g-out blog post GallagherA Universy of Ptsburgh offensive leman om 1977 through 1979, Ed Gallagher reprsed his sexualy until 1985, when he had his first sexual enunter wh a man, then attempted to kill himself 12 days later. He died LuhenA kicker for the Nebraska Cornhkers who played om 2003 through 2005, Eric Luhen told Outsports he was open about beg gay and suffered relentls bullyg om a handful of teammat.
JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’
‘NFL 360’ profil five LGBTQ people wh a sports background, cludg three openly gay football players, on the impact of Nassib g out. * gay football player pictures *
While he said he never kept his sexualy a secret, a "nspiracy of silence" left the matter unspoken the GendreA kicker for four seasons wh the Middle Tennsee Blue Rairs, Alan Gendre, openly gay om age 16 on, would end his llege reer as the lead srer Sun Belt nference history. He ma the cisn to announce he was gay, the first active Divisn III player to do so, after nnectg wh Conner Mertens through You Can Play, he SarafArizona State leman Chris Saraf 2014 me out as gay to lol LGBT publitn Compete, makg him the first Divisn I player out of the closet.
The move quickly brought msag of support om the athletic partment and universy officials, and the wrer for Compete told The Arizona Republic that the school fact approached him about breakg the SimsBrian Sims 2000 was named -pta for the Bloomsberg Universy football team Pennsylvania, makg him the first openly gay llege football pta NCAA history, acrdg to Outsports. Sims, post-football, entered polics and 2012 beme the first openly gay polician ever elected to the Pennsylvania Hoe of DarrowAn offensive leman for Prceton, Mason Darrow me out 2015. He's now pursug a ont-office job profsnal JohnsonMy-Kg Johnson, a recent grad of Tempe High School Arizona, is set this fall to be the first openly gay scholarship player reced to play major-llege football, takg the field wh the Universy of Arizona.
‘I HAVE BEEN FIGHTG MY SEXUALY’: A-LEAGUE MEN PLAYER JOSH CAVALLO OUT AS GAY
Josh Cavallo, the only openly gay top-flight male soccer player the sport, has told CNN that FIFA’s cisn to ban players om wearg “OneLove” armbands at the Qatar 2022 has ma him feel “exclud.” * gay football player pictures *
He said he wanted to enter his fal season of llege ball livg openly and hontly, and emailed the newspaper shortly after Kurdzlek, a iend and opponent on the field, me out PertetWyatt Pertet, a special teams player and receiver for Capal Universy, will be a sophomore this season. When Byron Perks h “share” on Instagram and publicly me out as gay, he didn’t thk he was dog for anybody other than himself.
BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.
After beg the only current, openly gay player men’s top-flight football last month, Josh Cavallo says a new terview wh the Guardian that he would be “sred” to play at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar bee of the untry’s homosexualy laws. * gay football player pictures *
But as the first gay football player to ever publicly e out at an HBCU, Perks didn’t jt remove his own mask when he revealed his sexualy to the world. 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.
GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS HE WOULD BE ‘SRED’ TO PLAY AT THE 2022 WORLD CUP QATAR
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.
20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS
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.
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.
CARL NASSIB OF LAS VEGAS RAIRS IS FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO ANNOUNCE HE IS GAY
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.
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.
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.