How many gay people are in the nfl
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The 2003 first-round pick played in 86 games for the 49ers and Raiders. He's now married.
Ryan Russell (2015-18)
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Russell isn't gay. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission.
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. but it is in gay years."
Brad Thorson (2011)
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A lineman at Kansas and Wisconsin in college, Thorson attended training camp with the Arizona Cardinals in 2011.
We call them diamonds in the rough. 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.
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.
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. He knows this because many of them have reached out to him.
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. Outsports breaks down the list of 16 players, who have openly come out publicly. He also recorded the final tackle of John Elway's career in Super Bowl XXXIII.
Tuaolo publicly came out in 2002.
Dave Kopay was the first player to come out, in 1975, three years after retiring after a nine-year career.
Played in a regular season game
Dave Kopay (1964-72): Running back with the 49ers, Lions, Washington, Saints, and Packers.
Jerry Smith (1965-77): Tight end with Washington. After coming out in 2012, Davis has done great activism work for organizations like the "You Can Play" project.
He told ESPN his declining play may have been due to the pressures of hiding who he was.
The following year, he was inducted into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
He once said regarding the NFL and not coming out: "The NFL has a reputation, and it's not even a verbal thing — it's just known. But he wanted to find himself first.
"I was just afraid I'd be 30 and still not know who I am," he said.
You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com
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His former teammate, David Kopay, revealed in his 1977 book that the two once had a fling, essentially outing Smith and confirming his sexuality.