Simmons also said he never would have declared himself gay during the four seasons he played for the N.F.L. Simmons said he cultivated a reputation for being the life of the party, and had to compartmentalize his football life and his personal life. Some players like Simmons said they felt they had no choice but to hide their sexual identity while they were in the league. positive and died from pneumonia-related complications in 2014 at age 57.
Roy Simmons was the second former player to announce that he was gay, doing so in 1992 after his career with the Giants and Washington Football Team had ended. He played for nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and four other teams in the 1960s and 1970s, and has since become an activist and an ambassador for the Gay Games, a quadrennial sporting event.
#Group pictures of gay men pro
David Kopay became the first pro football player to publicly come out as gay in 1975, three years after he retired. players had previously announced publicly that they were gay, but all after their playing careers were over. He has tallied 20½ sacks during his career.Ī handful of N.F.L. The Raiders signed him to a three-year, $25 million contract in March 2020.
He played two seasons in Cleveland before playing two more seasons in Tampa. After a collegiate career at Penn State, he was chosen by the Browns in the third round of the 2016 draft. Nassib, by contrast, has already played with three teams over five seasons and is under contract through 2022. And I’m really pumped to see what the future holds.īut Sam left the N.F.L. And I’m very excited to be a part of it to help in any way that I can. youth in America, and they’re truly doing incredible things. 1 suicide prevention service for L.G.B.T.Q. And I’m going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project. But until then, you know, I’m going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate. I actually hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I’m a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I’m really not doing this for attention. I’ve got the best family, friends and job a guy could ask for.
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest. I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’m at my house here in West Chester, Pa. Player The Raiders defensive lineman came out in a video posted on social media and said he would donate $100,000 to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to suicide prevention efforts for L.G.B.T.Q. Transcript Carl Nassib Becomes First Openly Gay Active N.F.L.