Gay football players in nfl

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Smith moved to Austin, Texas, in the 1980s and opened a gay bar. Throughout the league's history, a number of former players have come out after hanging up their cleats. In a coming out story in 2017, O'Callaghan revealed his plan after football was always to kill himself. He played in 111 games and recorded 200 tackles and 12 sacks.

After coming out in 2012, Davis has done great activism work for organizations like the "You Can Play" project. It was far from the most important work he would do, though. He came out as bisexual in 2019, saying he felt selfish for doing so because he didn't want to be a distraction.

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There have been 16 gay or bi players come out publicly in the NFL, which is in its 106th season.

ESPN polled 51 active NFL players in 2014 before Michael Sam became the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL, and 44 of those players said a teammate's sexual orientation didn't matter to them. He learned he had the disease only after he was stabbed by a lover in 1986.

Martin Jenkins (1977)

Jenkins attended training camp with the Seattle Seahawks as a defensive back in 1977.

Played in the Super Bowl with the 2007 Patriots.

Ryan Russell (2015-17, spent 2018 in Bills camp): Defensive lineman with the Buccaneers and Cowboys. He came out in a blog post in 2014, thanking athletes like Michael Sam and Jason Collins for helping him gain the courage. That stood as the position's all-time record by the time he retired.

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

He knows this because many of them have reached out to him. That made him the first NFL player to marry someone of the same sex.

Rohrer played for the Cowboys in the '80s and played in 83 games.

gay football players in nfl

Nassib played with the Bucs in 2022 and retired from the NFL on Sept.

Jaden VazquezFordham UniversityFCSLB2021Bisexual; active player with no negative team feedback.[21][29]Ryan DelucaFurman UniversityFCSWR2021Gay; came out post-final game as fifth-year senior, received strong support; engaged in 2024.[21][30]Byron PerkinsHampton UniversityFCSDB2022Gay; first out player at an HBCU, pursued NFL opportunities.[21][31]Jack StorrsPomona-PitzerDIIILB2019Gay; active, teammates showed support via Pride stickers.[21]Scott CooperAugsburg UniversityDIIILBDuring collegeGay; highlighted on National Coming Out Day.[21]Mitch EbyChapman UniversityDIIIDE2014Gay; among early out players in DIII.[21]Wyatt PertusetCapital UniversityDIIIWRDuring collegeGay; featured in media coverage.[21]Avery SaffoldAmherst CollegeDIIIDBDuring collegeGay; supportive team environment.[21]Christian ZeitvogelKalamazoo CollegeDIIIOLDuring collegeGay; overcame internal fears post-coming out.[21][32]Jacob Van IttersumNorthwood UniversityDIIOL2018Bisexual; active with team backing.[21]Cy HicksCollege of IdahoNAIAOL2019Gay; experienced quick acceptance.[21]Darrion McAlisterMarian UniversityNAIAOLDuring collegeGay; part of NAIA championship team.[21][33]

When Carl Nassib came out as gay during Pride Month in June 2021, he did much more than become the first active NFL player to be publicly out.

That was the extent of his NFL career. Aloha" was a big, 277-pound defensive tackle for the Packers and Vikings, among other teams. He identifies as bisexual, which makes him part of the LGBTQ+ community He briefly played defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys. Yet for the third consecutive season, there will be none in 2025.

Carl Nassib was No.

16 and the first one to come out as gay while on an active roster.