Gay football photos

Inhe was arrested for "having sex with a man in public. They would do well to take notes from the great Vince Lombardi, who had a gay brother and once said to teammates of one of his gay players, "if I hear one of you people make reference to his manhood, you'll be out of here before your ass hits the ground.

He's considered a gay pioneer after he came out to a newspaper inwhich made him the first pro team sport athlete to come out — not just in the NFL. His autobiography, "The David Kopay Story," revealed many of his struggles and became a best-seller. However, 32 of them said they had teammates or coaches use a homophobic slur and 25 said an openly gay player would feel comfortable in an NFL locker room.

Nassib was far from the first gay player to wear an NFL uniform, he's merely just the first one to come out while playing. There have been 16 gay or bi players come out publicly in the NFL, which is in its th season. Washington's first-round pick inRay McDonald didn't have a lengthy career but had a tragic story.

He was "late" to a team meeting by coach Vince Lombardi's standards inand that cost him his job. That stood as the position's all-time record by the time he retired.

List of LGBTQ American

He told The Washington Post 51 days before he died that he was battling the disease because he wanted some good to come from it. Here's a list of players in college and pro football who have proved you can be gay or bi and still run the gauntlet.

Here's all 14 of them, in order of when they played. He learned he had the disease only after he was stabbed by a lover in He will be the first openly gay person to serve. He paved the way for other NFL players and football players at every level still living in the closet in fear of how their teammates and coaches will respond.

7 of the hottest

Throughout the league's history, a number of former players have come out after hanging up their cleats. He knows this because many of them have reached out to him. He's now He's served as a Gay Games Ambassador. Yet for the third consecutive season, there will be none in List of LGBTQ American football players For a more in-depth discussion of the topic go here: Homosexuality in American Football.

His former teammate, David Kopay, revealed in his book that the two once had a fling, essentially outing Smith and confirming his sexuality. It's only a matter of time before more embrace their sexualities in public. Progress is on the way, even if it takes time.

Ryan O'Callaghan, the former New England Patriots offensive lineman who came out after his career, has said that there is likely at least one closeted player on every roster. Smith moved to Austin, Texas, in the s and opened a gay bar. We know there are others in the league that are afraid to do the same.

This is a list of notable, openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, and queer -identifying athletes associated with American Football, namely the NFL. This includes those who were posthumously outed. When Nassib came out, Kopay told OutSports he was ecstatic to hear the news.

Smith reportedly came out to his family in secret after retiring.