Famous gay football players

And, even more recently, Tuaolo was honored as an "Educator" on the Out list. Yet for the third consecutive season, there will be none in Czech football player Jakub Jankto has joined a handful of other openly gay footballers at the top of the men's game: here are their stories.

Top 18 Gay Players In Football History By Madelyn Hayes October 2, Football, or soccer, as we Americans call it, has long been viewed as a world of bravado and masculinity, where strength and aggression dominate both the field and locker players.

Historically, this has made it difficult for players to come out and be open about their sexuality. Kwame Harris played as an offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders throughout his career as an active NFL athlete in the s.

David Kopay was one of the first professional athletes to come out as a gay man. There have been 16 gay or bi players come out publicly in the NFL, which is in its th season. 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. Over the years, Kopay was featured as a cover star on Out 's sister publication, The Advocateand eventually opened up about having a short romantic fling with Jerry Smith when they were younger.

Tuaolo showcased his singing chops in by competing on The Voice season 13 and making it all the way to the "Playoffs" round. On the opposite end, many sports fans and pundits opposed Sam's inclusion in the NFL after he came out. As ofKopay is 82 years old.

He played for the San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Oakland Raiders during that period, but would eventually become even more famous for his original stint on The Bachelorettehis leading role on The Bachelorand his highly publicized coming-out story shared in As of late, Underwood has been with his husband Jordan C.

List gay LGBTQ American football players For a more in-depth discussion of the topic go here: Homosexuality in American Football. Jerry Smith played as a tight end for the Washington Redskins between and — an impressive total of 13 seasons.

Ryan Russellotherwise known as R. This passion for writing subsequently led Russell to write a memoir, The Yards Between Usreleased in Michael Sam came out as a gay man in during an interview with ESPNwhich became at the time the biggest coming-out story in the history of the NFL.

Upon being drafted to play for the St. Louis Rams, Sam famously kissed his boyfriend on camera as seen in a famous report from What's Trending and started a massive controversy in the world of sports. The queer history of the NFL also includes Roy Simmons — one of the first few players to come out as gay.

16 gay NFL players who proved that LGBTQ+ athletes belong in football. InHarris was accused of assaulting an ex-boyfriend, which meant that he was basically outed during that process via USA Today. Keep scrolling to learn more about the pro football players who have come out over the years!

Moreover, they heavily criticized Sam's choice to kiss his boyfriend on camera after being drafted… even though players kissing their significant others after being drafted was an incredibly common practice for all straight athletes in the league.

By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Fortunately, one of the most popular sports in the U. We continue to fight for the visibility of athletes who don't identify as straight, and it's great to see past examples of NFL stars coming out and still having successful careers.

Offensive lineman Brad Thorson briefly played for the Arizona Cardinals in A few years later, inthe football player came out as gay in a blog post shared on Independence Day. He was an active football player in the is cameron diaz gay between and He came out as gay in during an interview with Outsports.

Sam has ultimately prevailed football that period of hatredand we LOVE to see it.