Conversations about sexuality have always been charged and plagued with heated arguments. Some people view those who do not strictly identify as heterosexual as intrigued, confused, and, in the extreme, with hatred and disgust. The simple truth is that homosexuals exist; they are here, they have always been here and will continue to be.
Celebrities have been in the news for decades because of their sexuality, and athletes are no exception. There are a fair number of NFL football players who are gay, but you never guessed it. Some of these players have tried to keep this very private aspect of their lives out of the public eye, while others are finally coming out of the closet – thanks to the increasingly vocal LGBTQ community. Here are 10 gay NFL players you probably wouldn’t have seen who were sexually attracted to people of their own gender.
Gay NFL Players You Never Knew
10. Kwame Harris
The Jamaican-born footballer might not have been the league’s most talented offensive tackle, but he was kind enough to get drafted in the first round by the San Francisco 49ers in 2003. Throughout his six-season career in the NFL, he remained a starter in most games. By all accounts he was a fantastic player, although he often struggled to block defensive play or protect passes, issues that contributed to his early retirement from the Oakland Raiders after a season at instead of three.
Kwame Harris was one of the first crop of football players to publicly come out as gay, although the way he did so was quite unsavory. Kwame broke the news of his sexuality after he was arrested and charged with battery against a former boyfriend and lover. He officially confessed to being gay in an interview with CNN following the incident. Since then, Harris has lent her voice to the fight against straight NFL players who claim sharing a locker room with gay men makes them feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, due to the stereotypical image of homosexuals, he remained one of the NFL’s gay players. People are not willing to accept that they are truly gay.
9. Esera Tuaolo
Tuaolo spent 10 years in the NFL, playing in the defensive tackle position for five NFL teams. He was selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers, where he became the first rookie in their history to play in every game that season. The following year, he played for the Minnesota Vikings until 1996, before moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and finally the Carolina Panthers.
Most people wouldn’t have guessed that Tuaolo was gay until he appeared on the popular sports show, Vrais Sports. He then went on The Oprah Winfrey Show to air his ad and has never watched back since then. The footballer is a passionate defender of gay rights. He testified against same-sex anti-marriage laws and disapproved of the NFL’s attitude toward homosexuality. Tuaolo dated her boyfriend Mitchell Wheeler for 10 years, until things went wrong.
8. Wade Davis
Wade Davis does a lot of things. speaker, educator, writer, activist and, more generally, football player. He joined the NFL as a member of the Tennessee Titans and as an untraded free agent in 2000, but did not make it past the preseason stage. He then did the same with the Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks before joining the Berlin Thunder and the Barcelona Dragons, where he played two full seasons. He had to retire from the NFL after injuring his leg.
Wade was one of the gay NFL players in the closet until he came out in 2012 and spoke openly about how he had to hide his sexual identity from his teammates when he was in the league. Wade is a leading LGBTQ rights activist. He works with several organizations fighting against homophobia in sport, for inclusion and diversity, and to support and build a strong community for LGBTQ professionals of color to thrive.
7. Dave Kopay
In his heyday, David Kopay was a running back in the NFL. He was drafted to join the San Francisco 49ers in 1964 and went on to play for four other teams before retiring his jersey. Although many players remember this NFL player for his impressive talent on the field, few people know that Kopay was the first professional athlete to be gay in any sport. He told his story of being a gay man in the NFL at a time when homosexuality was considered a disease by most people.
Despite retiring from football before his big announcement, Kopay continued to suffer discrimination and was considered an outcast in the sports community. In fact, he was denied coaching opportunities due to his sexuality for many years. Kopay didn’t let adversity get him down, he wrote a best-selling autobiographical novel and inspired other athletes to embrace their sexual orientation. He admitted to having a secret affair with another popular NFL player, Jerry Smith. If you ask us, he’s the most daring of all gay NFL players.
6. Ray McDonald
Ray McDonald was a running back who was chosen to play for the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft. He was personally selected by then-team owner Edward Bennett Williams. A year later, the footballer was arrested after he was caught having sex with a man in public. It was this arrest that made known Ray’s sexual orientation as a gay man.
Surprisingly, this information did not affect his position in the team, thanks to coach Lombardi who assumed control of the team and implemented a very strict policy of non-discrimination in the locker room or on the field. Lombardi would eventually fire Ray because the player showed up late for a meeting and the running back didn’t play after. Ray was stabbed by a friend of his in 1986, which led to him being hospitalized. He was diagnosed with HIV and died of AIDS a few years later.
5. Ryan O’Callaghan
Ryan was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006NFL Draft by the New England Patriots as offensive tackle. He then played for the Kansas City Chiefs. The footballer recently came out as gay as he opened up about his struggle to accept himself and how he tried to mask his sexual orientation with football, a very macho sport, in an interview with Outsports.
According to the player, he was tormented by the thought that no one would accept or love him for who he was, so when his only lifeline, football, was ripped away by a terrible injury, he was ready to end his life. He wrote a suicide note in preparation, but luckily he started seeing a therapist who encouraged him to approach his family and teammates. They were very supportive and since then Ryan hasn’t been shy about speaking about his experiences as a gay NFL player.
4. Dorian Bryant
Dorien Bryant was one of the best footballers when he was in college playing for the Purdue Boilermakers. Although he was not selected in the 2008 NFL Draft, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent but was later dropped. Dorien later refused to join the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans. In fact, he hasn’t been in the NFL since, but he is believed to still play in the National Football League for gay flag and for the Philadelphia Revolution.
Dorien came out as gay in 2013 during an interview with Philadelphia Magazine. He talked about being a football player and the time he spent trying to hide his sexuality. While at Purdue University, he dated a cheerleader who threatened to walk him out after the relationship broke down. The footballer denied he was gay when the news broke, but that didn’t stop him from taunting and teasing during games. Eventually he decided he didn’t want to live in hiding for the rest of his life. Dorien is openly gay now and seems to be better for it.
3.Roy Simmons
The football player nicknamed Sugar Bear played as an offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins and New York Giants. He was chosen by the latter in the eighth round of the 1979 draft.
Roy has managed to keep the details of his sexual orientation a secret during his career. It was after his retirement that he came out as gay on The Phil Donahue Show. He was the second former NFL player to do so. In 1997 Roy discovered he was HIV positive. He began treatment and released a memoir titled Best Out of Bounds: Getting Out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of NFL Lies. Roy fell ill in 2014 and had pneumonia before dying of complications.
2. Jerry Smith
Jerry Smith was a star athlete. He played in the tight end for the Washington Redskins and retired with a career-high 60 touchdowns, the most by a tight end. It was a feat that remained unbroken until 26 years later.
He remained a gay man throughout his career and that few people knew about his sexuality until he revealed to the Washington Post that he was dying of AIDS. Less than two months later, the footballer passed away and details of his lifestyle were written and documented in the NFL. A life of playoff football . His teammate, Dave Kopay, has confirmed his sexual orientation.
1. Michael Sam
Michael Sam made history by becoming the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL. The defender revealed to ESPN that he was gay in 2014 while still in college. Michael claimed that his sexuality was more of an open secret and that many of his teammates knew he was gay.
In fact, he once kissed his boyfriend, Vito Cammisano on camera after he was picked by the St. Louis Rams. Since his release, Michael has worked with other LGBTQ rights organizations to make sure discrimination in sports stops being a thing.