New Orleans Gay History

Contents:

• NASSIB IS NOT FIRST GAY NFL PLAYER BY A E
• VILMA CLARIFI HIS OPN OF A GAY TEAMMATE
• RANDALL GAY
• GAYLE BENSON OUTL FUTURE SUCCSN PLAN TO KEEP SATS, PELINS NEW ORLEANS
• SATS' RANDALL GAY OUT
• MULTIPLE NBA NTENRS REPORTEDLY TERTED RUDY GAY

NASSIB IS NOT FIRST GAY NFL PLAYER BY A E

Altogether, ’s the perfect settg for the livelit of gay cultur. The LGBTQ muny tak the spotlight at ftivals all year long, wh Southern Dence over Labor Day weekend attractg more than 125, 000 revelers to what’s e to be known as Gay Mardi Gras. Paras, stum, drag shows and themed parti abound durg Dence, then aga they’re a part of the cy’s Pri Ft, Mardi Gras, Halloween ftivi and even Easter, where the Gay Easter Para is one of three the French Quarter.

The Sats and Sners Lerary Ftival tak a more studied approach, brgg the gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and tersex lerati together for three days of spired mgs. After 15 years of holdg his tth si, not only did he tell the world he was gay, he also put his money where his mouth is by donatg a genero $100, 000 to the Trevor Project, a foundatn that addrs suici preventn the LGBTQ muny. The younger Nassib is beg hailed as the first openly gay NFL athlete, but ’s important to remember that he is by far the first gay person to play profsnal football, nor is he the first to make this announcement.

“I am an openly, proud gay man, ” Sam said. An un-reced walk-on at Penn State, Nassib posted two sacks and 18 total tackl his sophomore and junr years bed before fally startg unr a new ach senr year and equally explodg for 15.

VILMA CLARIFI HIS OPN OF A GAY TEAMMATE

As Hall of Famer Warren Moon remd , Nassib and Sam are far om the first gay athlet to play the NFL. They were jt the first who were so very brave enough to say so a hostile workg environment where ’s never been acceptable to be gay.

As USA soccer star Megan Rapoe said, “Go gays. You n’t w a champnship whout gays on your team.

RANDALL GAY

In this story:Jacksonville JaguarsJaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen beme the first publicly-known male ach Amerin men’s profsnal sports to e out as gay Thursday.Maxen spoke wh Outsports to share his journey and why he’s choosg to e out publicly.“I don’t want to feel like I have to thk about anymore,” Maxen said. I want to be vol support of people livg how they want to live, but I also want to jt live and not feel fear about how people will react.”Maxen, who has been wh his partner Nick for over two years, exprsed that the ntued support om the people around him helped him feel fortable to share his news.“It wasn’t until recently—and wh the immense love and support of my fay, my iends, lleagu and peers, and the urage and sacrifice om my partner—that I realized I have the right and rponsibily to love and be loved, and that maybe sharg this will hopefully give someone else the strength to accept their own life and take ntrol of their own story,” Maxen said.Maxen also noted that he reached out to Carl Nassib, who is the only known gay NFL player the league right now, back Feb.

GAYLE BENSON OUTL FUTURE SUCCSN PLAN TO KEEP SATS, PELINS NEW ORLEANS

After the New Orleans Advote profiled Hernanz’s but, the story’s ments sectn was filled wh many disgtg homophobic ments.

“I do not feel ‘threatened’ by an obv homosexual dancg at NFL gam. I watch NFL gam to be entertaed, not to be held ptive to the latt ‘advance’ the homosexual ‘rights’ movement.

“Come for the Natnal Anthem disrpect, stay for the gay dancers. “How gay n the NFL get? Every sprg, the gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and tersex herage is celebrated durg the Sats and Sners Lerary Ftival.

SATS' RANDALL GAY OUT

Iowa native and Universy of Iowa graduateNew Orleans Sats lebacker Jonathan Vilma appeared on CNN's Anrson Cooper 360 on Monday night to try and clarify recent ments he ma about doubtg if an openly gay NFL player would be wily accepted the 's first ments appeared earlier this month on a NFL Network special about locker room culture, which he said, "I thk that he would not be accepted as much as we thk he would be accepted. I don't want people to jt naturally assume, like, 'Oh, we're all homophobic.

MULTIPLE NBA NTENRS REPORTEDLY TERTED RUDY GAY

"Vilma's ments were wily circulated Monday after Missouri fensive end Michael Sam said that he is gay, which will likely make Sam the first openly gay player the NFL once he is drafted Vilma said on Twter that he was appearg on the CNN program bee, “I fely need to clear the air.

I don't know, and the players don't know bee this is the first time that you have a Michael Sam, who will by all acunts be drafted, openly gay, e to a locker room. Some people grew up wh or whout the acceptance of gays wh their fai. (When) you have more players like Michael Sam g out and sayg that they're gay, the transn will be a lot smoother.

”Vilma was later asked the terview if he really thks he has never showered wh a gay teammate before.

“She said, ‘You really don't thk anyone's gay?

' And I said, ‘Of urse, odds are that you have 2 percent, 5 percent of the locker room is gay. But the facts are that no player before Michael Sam has e out before gettg drafted or durg his reer the NFL and openly said, ‘I am gay. New Orleans has always been a cy that champned the arts and celebrated culture, which has fostered a lively gay social scene and drew many LGBTQ artists and performers to the French Quarter, home to Café Lafte Exile, one of Ameri’s olst gay bars.