Before Carl Nassib, Michael Sam was the NFL’s first openly gay draft pick - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST GAY MALE NFL COACH
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH COACH COM OUT AS GAY IN A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU
• THE 39 CURRENT NFL PLAYERS HAVE ALL PLAYED WH AN OUT GAY TEAMMATE
• A NVERSATN WH T.J. CALLAN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GAY BLACK MEN G OUT SPORTS
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST
• NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS
• BLACK, GAY COWBOY: MICHAEL SAM STEPS UP
• CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE NFL PLAYER, ULD BE TURNG POT FOR MALE SPORTS
• BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.
• NFL PROUDLY CLAR 'FOOTBALL IS GAY' NEW VIO

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY 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. 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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. 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.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST GAY MALE NFL COACH

Wyatt Pertet, a special teams player and receiver for Capal Universy, will be a sophomore this season. 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.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH COACH COM OUT AS GAY IN A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU

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. -- 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.

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

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. 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. 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 NEXTBible Challenged Florida School District Due to Explic ContentCharl Barkley Tells Anti-LGBTQ Bigots “F**k You”Actor Tom Holland’s Gay Sex Scene Sparks ControversyMalaysia Cancels Mic Ftival Followg Matt Healy’s Gay Kissg Stunt.

A NVERSATN WH T.J. CALLAN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GAY BLACK MEN G OUT SPORTS

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. 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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. Callan, 22, left the Miami program after experiencg what he scribed as a hostile environment, where gay people were spoken of rogatory terms, ultimately keepg him the closet.

Outsports recently spoke wh Callan about how the history of black athlet g out, and specifilly black gay men, has been particularly meangful to him. Two proment exampl whose g out announcements had an impact beyond sports are Jason Colls, the first NBA player to e out 2013, and Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted the NFL 2014.

BLACK, GAY COWBOY: MICHAEL SAM STEPS UP

”A person of lor has to al wh not only beg gay, but beg black, and then beg black and gay, ” Callan said. Further, Callan says that as a black man the larger gay culture “you do experience racism wh the gay muny. As an example of the latter, he relled meetg one whe gay man who told Callan, “‘I thought you were gonna be ghetto, you’re not, ’ and I’m like, ‘What are you talkg about?

CARL NASSIB, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE NFL PLAYER, ULD BE TURNG POT FOR MALE SPORTS

And you would thk that a lot of gay men would unrstand and empathize wh the fact that you are a part of multiple margalized muni, but a lot of s, there is a lack of unrstandg. He also appreciated as a football player that someone like Sam uld e out what is nsired a hypermascule sport bee challenged the ia and stereotyp lkg beg gay to “beg weak.

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

“I felt very secure about [beg gay] and I feel like maybe they picked up on bee I didn’t want to speak about . Sce g out, Callan says he has received nothg but posive ments and support, and says his only regret durg his llege years was not havg other active gay football players he uld reach out to. 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.

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. When Nashville Predators prospect Le Prokop me out this week, was the first time an active player unr ntract to an NHL team had ever publicly acknowledged they were gay.

NFL PROUDLY CLAR 'FOOTBALL IS GAY' NEW VIO

Overnight, Prokop's announcement doubled the number of out gay athlet currently playg the untry's four major men's sports — football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Though many retired former players have e out, is more unual for male profsnal athlet to say they are gay while still playg. Gay male athlet face cultural barriers Part of the reason for the lack of out gay players men's profsnal sports uld be that there are jt fewer of them the game.

Rory Magrath, a rearcher at Solent Universy England, has suggted that 's possible gay men are unrreprented profsnal sports.

"Gay men are a fe rource, so they n't exist great numbers every quarter, " Magrath told "Gay men are overreprented some areas, and as a nsequence are gog to be unrreprented sports. That uld be due to the mascule culture at the center of the major sports, experts say, creatg an environment that is ls welg to gay athlet.