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Rsell reflects on the NFL's relatnship wh LGBTQ+ players, 3 years after g out as R.K. Rsell reflects on the NFL's relatnship wh LGBTQ+ players, 3 years after g out as bi" class="article-share-lk" tle="Share by email"><svg class="in in-email" viewBox="0 0 128 128" width="20" aria-labelledby="tle"><tle id="tle">Email</tle><path display="le" d="M64.2,86.3l-64-48V104c0,4.4,3.6,8,8,8h112c4.4,0,8-3.6,8-8V38.4L64.2,86.3z M64.2,72l64-48 c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8H8.2c-4.4,0-8,3.6-8,8L64.2,72z"></path></svg></a></div></div></hear><sectn class="article-sectn--lead-image article-sectn--lead-image--standard"><figure class="article-fig" style="aspect-rat:1000 / 667"><picture class="article-fig-ner"><img class="article-image" src=" alt="R.K. Rsell speaks onstage durg A Night of Pri wh GLAAD and NFL on Febary 10, 2022 Los Angel, California. (Rich Polk/Getty Imag for GLAAD)"/></picture><figptn class="article-fig-ptn">R.K. Rsell speaks onstage durg A Night of Pri wh GLAAD and NFL on Febary 10, 2022 Los Angel, California. (Rich Polk/Getty Imag for GLAAD)</figptn></figure></sectn><div class="article-sectns"><sectn class="article-sectn--ntent hang-punctuatn article-sectn--first article-sectn--centered"><p class="">When Las Vegas Rairs football player Carl Nassib me out as gay last summer, he received praise for his honty and bravery. But spe supportive ial reactns, the first openly gay active player NFL history is now whout a team.</p><p class="">He’s not alone. Former NFL player <a href=">R.K. Rsell</a> also found himself teamls and stgglg to fd a new one after g out as bisexual. When he ma the announcement Augt 2019, Rsell felt exced at first but also aaid of the rponse he would receive.</p><p class="nt-medium">“There's also the fear that beg the first active person to e out, that I won't sign another team. A fear that my lleagu won't unrstand, that I'll be shunned om the NFL, a league that is known to be very mascule, a manly man sport and tough,” Rsell says. “And a lot of the tim, culture tells that LGBTQ+ people aren't those thgs.”</p><p class="">Those fears were later found when Rsell’s opportuni wh the NFL evaporated. In an op-ed for <a href=">The Guardian</a> earlier this year, Rsell wrote that more attentn should be given to how players are treated after g out stead of only focg on their announcement.</p><p class="">Instanc of homophobia stadiums, locker rooms and fandom still perlate. One example Rsell pots to is former Las Vegas Rairs ach Jon Gn, whose misogynistic, racist and homophobic emails om 2010 to 2018 were tailed by <a href=">The New York Tim 2021</a>. While some wh the NFL say Gn is an outlier, Rsell disagre.</p><p class="nt-medium">“Even if this isn't a thread throughout the NFL or throughout male profsnal sports or leagu, 's somethg that's beg tolerated. It's somethg that's beg pacified,” Rsell says. “And a lot of the tim tolerance is even worse.”</p><p class="">Back 2019, queer former NFL player <a href=">Ryan O’Callahan</a> said there was at least one player on every NFL team who is gay or bisexual. Rsell remembers beg that posn but also unrstands NFL players are privileged. Many LGBTQ+ youth may not be able to e out at the risk of vlence, he says. A recent survey om <a href=">The Trevor Project</a> revealed that nearly half of LGBTQ+ youth serly nsired suici the past year. The survey also found anxiety and prsn were strongly prevalent among queer youth.</p><p class="">For LGBTQ+ kids hopg to bee NFL players, Rsell says he would tell them they n be whatever they want, echog a lson his mother tght him at a young age.</p><p class="nt-medium">“The person that you are is only fed by you,” he says. “There are people this league and this world that are jt like you.”</p><p class="">Sce leavg the NFL, Rsell says his life has been better than any year he spent the league. While there are still moments he wish he uld play, he says he’s proud of the person he is now.</p><p class="nt-medium">“At the end of the day, I loved what I did but I didn't love myself. I loved the guys my locker room, I loved that mararie and that brotherhood, but I didn't love me,” he says. “And that blocked any happs that I uld have got om playg football.”</p><hr/><p class=""><em><a href="> Thomas Danielian</a> produced and eded this terview for broadst wh <a href=">Todd Mundt</a>. <a href=">Jeante Muhammad</a> adapted for the web.</em></p></sectn></div><sectn class="article-sectn--story-group article-sectn--centered"><p class=""><em>This segment aired on Augt 9, 2022.</em></p></sectn><sectn class="article-sectn--story-group article-sectn--centered Tags_article-sectn--tags__NOKiB"><a data-ec="Article Tags" data-el="Here & Now: Edors' Picks" data-ea="Click" class="article-tag" href="/rad/programs/hereandnow/tag/here-and-now-edors-picks">Here & Now: Edors' Picks</a></sectn></article><sectn class="article-sectn--story-group article-sectn--centered"><div class="ntributor has-photo"><div class="ntributor-profile"><figure class="ntributor-profile-em ntributor-photo"><a href="/si/staff/celte-headlee"><picture><img src=" class="lazy rd-image" alt=""/></picture></a></figure><p class="ntributor-profile-em ntributor-b"><a class="ntributor-name" href="/si/staff/celte-headlee">Celte Headlee</a> <span class="ntributor-tle">Gut Host, Here & Now</span><br/>Celte Headlee is a gut host on Here & Now, wrer, journalist and thor of "Speakg of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism — and How to Do It."</p><p class="ntributor-more"><a class="ntributor-lk ntributor-b-lk" href="/si/staff/celte-headlee">More…</a></p></div></div><div class="ntributor has-photo"><div class="ntributor-profile"><figure class="ntributor-profile-em ntributor-photo"><a href="/si/staff/thomas-danielian"><picture><img src=" class="lazy rd-image" alt=""/></picture></a></figure><p class="ntributor-profile-em ntributor-b"><a class="ntributor-name" href="/si/staff/thomas-danielian">Thomas Danielian</a> <span class="ntributor-tle">Associate Producer, Here & Now</span><br/>Thomas Danielian is an associate producer for Here & Now.</p><p class="ntributor-more"><a class="ntributor-lk ntributor-b-lk" href="/si/staff/thomas-danielian">More…</a></p></div></div><div class="ntributor has-photo"><div class="ntributor-profile"><figure class="ntributor-profile-em ntributor-photo"><a href="/si/staff/jeante-muhammad"><picture><img src=" class="lazy rd-image" alt=""/></picture></a></figure><p class="ntributor-profile-em ntributor-b"><a class="ntributor-name" href="/si/staff/jeante-muhammad">Jeante Muhammad</a> <span class="ntributor-tle">Freelance Associate Producer, Here & Now</span><br/>Jeante Muhammad is a eelance assistant producer for Here & Now.</p><p class="ntributor-more"><a class="ntributor-lk ntributor-b-lk" href="/si/staff/jeante-muhammad">More…</a></p></div></div></sectn><sectn class="sectn--bo sectn--bp"><div class="uw bp--rponsive"><div class="bp-ner"><p class="bp-label">Advertisement</p><div class="bp-ntent bp-ntent--centered"><div style="width:300px;height:50px"></div></div></div></div></sectn><div></div><div class="global-d-ponents onmand--is-playg"><div class="global-player"><d preload="to"></d><div class="global-player-bar"><div class="global-player-bar-left"><button class="global-player-bar-ntrol"><i class="in-play in-play--global-player-bar in-play--psed"><span class="in-play-shape"><span class="in-label" data-note="for-screen-rears">Rume</span></span></i></button><div class="global-player-label global-player-label--live"><div class="global-player-channel"><span>Listen Live</span></div><div class="global-player-tle"><a class="global-player-label-lk" href="/">Loadg...</a></div></div></div><div class="global-player-bar-right"><div class="global-player-x"><svg class="in in-close" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-labelledby="tle"><tle id="tle">Close

r gay nfl

Kev Maxen, a strength ach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, has e out, beg the first openly gay male ach men's U.S. profsnal sports.

Contents:

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. * r gay nfl *

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 is gay. 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. Men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay.

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

Kev Maxen, Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach, is the first male ach a major U.S. men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay. * r gay nfl *

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.

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

Jaguars assistant Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's pro sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer. * r gay nfl *

-- 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.

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

* r gay nfl *

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. 10:48Download AudCopy the below to embed the WBUR d player on your seRumeWhen Las Vegas Rairs football player Carl Nassib me out as gay last summer, he received praise for his honty and bravery.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST GAY MALE NFL COACH

The Natnal Football League clared, "Football is gay," a vio shared on Twter on Monday rponse to player Carl Nassib's g out. * r gay nfl *

But spe supportive ial reactns, the first openly gay active player NFL history is now whout a ’s not alone.

Instanc of homophobia stadiums, locker rooms and fandom still perlate. One example Rsell pots to is former Las Vegas Rairs ach Jon Gn, whose misogynistic, racist and homophobic emails om 2010 to 2018 were tailed by The New York Tim 2021. ”Back 2019, queer former NFL player Ryan O’Callahan said there was at least one player on every NFL team who is gay or bisexual.

Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. Kev Maxen, an associate strength ach for the Jacksonville Jaguars football team, me out as gay on Thursday an terview wh the LGBTQ sports-foced webse Outsports. That signatn mak Maxen the first out gay male ach — of any level — men’s U.

NFL PROUDLY CLAR 'FOOTBALL IS GAY' NEW VIO

Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen has e out as gay. His announcement is a first for a male ach a major U.S.-based profsnal league. * r gay nfl *

In 2014, Michael Sam was the first out gay player to be drafted when he was selected by the then-St.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Jacksonville Jaguars ach Kev Maxen, who joed the team last year, me out publicly as gay an terview wh Outsports published on Thursday, beg the first ach a U.S. men’s profsnal league to do so" emprop="scriptn * r gay nfl *

On the achg si, several female assistant ach the NFL have prevly e out as gay, cludg former San Francis 49ers assistant ach Katie Sowers, there has prevly been no known out gay male head or assistant ach the league. Curt Miller, who is currently the head ach of the Los Angel Sparks, is the first out gay male ach the WNBA, but there have been no out gay ach any of the four major men’s U. READ NEXTKylie Mogue Announc Las Vegas RincyIsland Hoe Staff Says “Keep Key Wt Gay”D.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY 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. * r gay nfl *

Smh’s ‘Kokomo Cy’ Explor the Liv of Trans Sex WorkersActor Tom Holland’s Gay Sex Scene Sparks Controversy. In a vio shared on Twter on Monday, the Natnal Football League clared, "Football is gay. "In whe letters on a black background, the word "gay" was then replaced wh words cludg "lbian, " "betiful, " "queer, " "transgenr, " "power" and "life.

Nassib is the first active NFL player to e out as gay.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS

"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." * r gay nfl *

-based profsnal league to e out as gay. Jacksonville Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen cid on Thursday to e out publicly as gay hop of livg his life whout fear and to spire others. Before jog Jacksonville’s achg staff, he was a strength ach for the football teams at Baylor and Febary 2022, Maxen reached out to NFL player Carl Nassib, who me out as gay 2021, to seek advice.

OPN: NFL'S CLARATN THAT 'FOOTBALL IS GAY' SIGNALS LEAGUE'S ONGOG EVOLUTN

The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars strength ach, Kev Maxen, has e out as gay — makg him the first male ach a U. While Maxen is believed to be the first male ach to have e out publicly as gay, there have been a few female ach U. When to players, there have only been 16 the history of the NFL to e out as gay or bisexual as of September 2022, per Outsports.

IN POWERFUL REBE OF HATE, JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY G OUT AS GAY

"Football is gay, " the ad began – whe words on a black screen wh fat cheerg the background.

"The statement me jt ls than a week after Las Vegas Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib announced to the world that he is gay, makg him the first active NFL player to be out.

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

And now, wh the latt ad mpaign, league officials aim to ensure that the NFL wraps s arms not only around Nassib but other gay players who to date have kept their sexualy private, and the LGBTQ+ muny as a whole.

The signs of such groundwork have been there: Would the NFL have reached this pot had not been for Michael Sam, the Mizzou fensive leman who announced he was gay leadg up to the draft 2014? This isn’t your father’s asked about Nassib's announcement, numero players, ach and ont-office employe who spoke wh USA TODAY Sports surmised that there has never been a better and safer time the league for people of diverse walks of life to speak their that partly explas why many players across the league exprsed support both publicly and privately when Nassib ma his announcementNassib wasn’t the first gay player the NFL, and he certaly will not be the 's a belief among some who work wh the NFL that many wh the league have started to unrstand that jt as the lor of a person’s sk has no impact on their abily to ntribute to the succs of a anchise, neher should sexual orientatn. No doubt, gay players and staffers, who have kept their sexual orientatns private, have craved siar, as the NFL clar, “Football is gay.

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

What Kev Maxen has done, g out as gay, makg him what's believed to be the first publicly out male ach major Amerin men’s profsnal sports, is brave enough.

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

NFL SAYS: ‘FOOTBALL IS GAY. FOOTBALL IS QUEER. FOOTBALL IS ACCEPTG.’

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. Player to publicly clare that he is gay. “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.

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

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

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* R GAY NFL

Jaguars assistant is first male NFL ach to e out as gay - Los Angel Tim .

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