NFL veteran free agent Ryan Russell opens up on his sexuality in a first-person essay to @kevinarnovitz: https://t.co/bUKezbx4Cz pic.twitter.com/B5HEyBUQjb
— ESPN (@espn) August 29, 2019
We all know Ryan Russell is not the only gay or bisexual athlete in the NFL. It’s 2019. Let’s create a world where LGBT athletes don’t have to hide who they are to get a job.https://t.co/jcbpwU6FjA
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 29, 2019
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Retired NFL offensive lineman Ryan O’Callaghan who identifies as gay also has come out of the closet, after actively playing for a team. He further states that there are other men in the league afraid to come out, stating that at least one gay player is living in silence on every NFL team. He details some of this in his new book, My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life.
“I can promise you there’s plenty of closeted NFL players,” O’Callaghan said. “I think it’s safe to say there’s at least one on every team who is either gay or bisexual. A lot of guys still see it as potentially having a negative impact on their career.”