The Out Year in Sports So Far Is Truly Inspiring

A closeted soccer player in Germany made headlines when he wrote an anonymous column about why he's afraid to come out publicly. But others this year have boldly stood up, with the latest a boxing star.

BY Lucas Grindley

October 04 2012 3:57 PM ET

Wade Davis
The former NFL player, who spent time with the Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, and Seattle Seahawks, came out during an interview with OutSports. Now, as an openly gay man, he works with LGBT youth at the Hetrick-Martin Institute. He told The Advocate in August that staying in the closet was largely his own decision. "I wouldn't say I ever felt pressure from my teammates or anything else," Davis said. "I think all of the pressure was really internalized. I felt like I lived in constant fear of someone finding out."