26 Football Players Who Came Out of the Closet

When Kansas State offensive tackle and NFL hopeful Scott Frantz came out to the nation, he shared that his teammates, to whom he'd come out earlier, had warmly received the news, a sign the most alpha of locker rooms may finally be ready for equality. That's a quick shift considering retired NFLer Ryan O’Callaghan, who came out weeks earlier, shared that as recently as 2011 he’d contemplated taking his own life as a better option than letting his sexuality be disclosed while he still played ball. So, with two gay players taking the field in the top tier of college football this season, has the future finally charged onto the turf? Here’s a list of players in college and pro ball who have proved you can be gay or bi and still run the gauntlet.

Less than two months before his 1986 death, legendary Washington Redskins tight end Jerry Smith disclosed to The Washington Post that he was dying of an AIDS-related illness. But even in that final interview, he declined to “elaborate on his life style,” as the Post put it. In ensuing years, the player’s homsexuality would be documented posthumously, notably in a short NFL documentary. Coach Vince Lombardi had apparently confided in Smith that he knew of his sexuality but would never let it impact him negatively; Lombardi’s brother was also gay. Smith was part of a star Redskins lineup during the late 1960s. His career 60 touchdowns would set a record among tight ends that would stand for 26 years. Yet he conspicuously has never been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

In 1968, Washington Redskins running back Ray McDonald was arrested for having sex with a man in public, just a year after the Redskins had drafted him in the first round. So Coach Vince Lombardi knew McDonald was gay when he took over leadership of the team in 1969, but made clear there would be no discrimination in his locker room, those close to the legend say. However, Lombardi would eventually fire McDonald for showing up late to a meeting, and the back would never play pro ball again. In 1986, after being hospitalized when a lover stabbed him, McDonald learned he had contracted HIV, and he would die of AIDS-related causes in 1993.

Cornerback Wade Davis, who played preseason with the Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins and spent two seasons with NFL Europe teams Berlin Thunder and Barcelona Dragons, came out as gay in 2012, nearly a decade after his retirement. Davis said he concealed his sexuality from teammates while he played. He would later join the staff of the Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York, working with LGBT youth.

Kwame Harris played five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and one with Oakland Raiders before retiring from the sport after the 2008 season. The offensive tackle would be outed publicly in 2013 after a domestic dispute with a boyfriend landed him in jail. He would later confirm his sexuality on CNN and sit down with ESPN to discuss the challenges of growing up gay in Jamaica and playing football while closeted.

A Purdue alum who gained more yards than any other non-Heisman Trophy winner in Big Ten history, Dorien Bryant failed to get drafted in 2008. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers later but got cut. He later declined to sign with the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys before coming out as gay at 24, he told Philadelphia Magazine in 2013. He revealed to the magazine that he’d dated a male cheerleader at Purdue who had threatened to out him then.

A University of Pittsburgh offensive lineman from 1977 through 1979, Ed Gallagher repressed his sexuality until 1985, when he had his first sexual encounter with a man, then attempted to kill himself 12 days later. Left paralyzed, he would go on to publish a book and to found Alive to Thrive, becoming a spokesman for the disabled and advocate for human rights. He died in 2005.

A kicker for four seasons with the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Alan Gendreau, openly gay from age 16 on, would end his college career as the lead scorer in Sun Belt conference history. But he failed to get drafted or signed to an NFL team.

Chapman University defensive end Mitchell Eby in 2014 would come out to teammates in a speech that resulted in applause, he told Outsports. He made the decision to announce he was gay, the first active Division III player to do so, after connecting with Conner Mertens through You Can Play, he said.

Brian Sims in 2000 was named co-captain for the Bloomsberg University football team in Pennsylvania, making him the first openly gay college football captain in NCAA history, according to Outsports. Sims, post-football, entered politics and in 2012 became the first openly gay politician ever elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

My-King Johnson, a recent grad of Tempe High School in Arizona, is set this fall to be the first openly gay scholarship player recruited to play major-college football, taking the field with the University of Arizona. He tweeted earlier this month, “First week of college football is done. Getting into the swing of things. Loving it down here in Tucson.”

Linebacker Kyle Kurziolek came out this year, his senior year playing for the University of St. Francis, and may be the first active player to come out after receiving an athletic scholarship, according to Outsports.

Wyatt Pertuset, a special teams player and receiver for Capital University, will be a sophomore this season. He came out to Outsports in May, where he announced hopes to be among the first out players to score a touchdown and to receive an All-Conference honor.