Are there any openly gay nfl players

Here's a list of players in college and pro football who have proved you can be gay or bi and still run the gauntlet. There have been 16 gay or bi players come out publicly in the NFL, which is in its th season. Carl Nassib was No. 16 and the first one to come out as gay while on an active roster.

List of LGBTQ American football players For a more in-depth discussion of the topic go here: Homosexuality in American Football. This is a list of notable, openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, and queer -identifying athletes associated with American Football, namely the NFL. This includes those who were posthumously outed.

Veteran pass rusher Carl Nassib, who in became the NFL's first openly gay player to play in a regular-season game, announced his retirement on Wednesday after seven seasons. Discover the inspiring stories of the 16 gay and bi players in NFL history who have paved the way for LGBTQ+ inclusivity in professional sports. Authors: Edward M. Kian, Ph. Corresponding Author: Edward M. Edward Ted M.

This researched examined mainstream media framing of Carl Nassib becoming the first active, established NFL player to come out as gay.

rumored gay nfl players

Purpose: Media have historically framed the NFL as a rugged, masculine sport, but media have also been supportive of the few former professional athletes who came out as gay or bisexual. Methods: A textual analysis was conducted to examine media framing of Nassib and his coming out in articles published in the five most popular sport-focused U. Theories on masculinity were used to guide the study.

Results: Four primary themes emerged from the data, most of which showed media were very supportive of Nassib publicly coming out and hailed it as a watershed moment in American sport. Conclusions: Media were supportive of an openly gay player and contended football was ready for this announcement. Applications in Sport: Media will be supportive of the vast majority of openly gay athletes who use sport as a platform to reveal their sexual orientation, and thus coaches and sport organizations should not fear players coming out.

In the United States, the NFL is by far the most popular and powerful sport league, and American football has long been socially construed as the most masculine participation sport for U. No active NFL player had previously revealed their homosexuality before Nassib, and all former NFL players who came out publicly as gay did so well after their careers were over In addition, citing depression and mental-health issues, Sam chose to forego his fledging career in the Canadian Football League which may have deterred other openly gay football players from coming out publicly Nassib, in contrast to those athletes who came out years before, went public at a time of great societal acceptance of gays and lesbians in the United States.

The sports world has also become more accepting of gays and lesbians. However, the culture inside football locker room may still be less welcoming for gay men than other sports. A recent study 4 found that roughly one-third of respondents from a major college football team had negative attitudes toward gay men, with the more religious players less supportive of homosexuality.

Accordingly it is unclear if mainstream media will positively frame an openly gay, active NFL player, because sport media plays a primary role in the rugged, idealized form of masculinity historically framed in coverage of professional football players in the United States 3, The NFL is not alone in its near complete lack of open homosexuality. In fact, the NFL has had more current or former players come out as gay or bisexual than the other three most popular U.

No current or former NHL player has ever come out as gay or bisexual. Both played for a Dodgers organization housed in gay-friendly Los Angeles. The most successful and recognizable openly gay U. The rise of organized youth team sports in the late 19 th Century was largely in response to fears that men would become soft as the United States changed from an agrarian to industrial society Since then, and from early childhood, most American boys and men have been socialized into sport, where they learn the most desirable forms of masculinity and often carry those lessons into adulthood Hegemonic masculinity values men and boys who exhibit the most desired masculine traits such as aggressiveness, assertiveness, and physical dominance 8.

Near the bottom of the hegemonic masculine social hierarchy are openly gay men, who by their mere sexual preference challenge traditional notions of masculinity, which is why gay men have often steered away from organized team sports 1. However, more recent research has demonstrated that athletes, sport coaches and leagues, and even sports fans have increasingly become more accepting of gays and lesbians 5, Journalists, communications specialists, and media managers decide what events and people are worthy of receiving coverage.

These media professionals then determine which facts, sources, and quotes to include in content. This subjective and influential process is commonly referred to as media framing by scholars Only a few scholarly articles examined media framing of openly gay male athletes, probably because so few gay male athletes have come out publicly.