Former NFL Player Wade Davis comes out

[hustle4alivin]

Wade Davis discusses being gay and playing in the NFL - latimes.com



Former NFL player Wade Davis, who came out publicly to Outsports.com this week, said in an interview with CNN that he didn't tell anyone he was gay when he played in the league because he wanted to be known as a football player, not as a gay person.

"Me being a gay person wasn't what I wanted to be known for," he said.

Davis was a defensive back for the Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins and retired from the NFL seven years ago.

"I don't believe most NFL players have a problem with having a gay teammate. I do get the feeling they have to protect who they are," Davis said. "At the end of the day it's a job, so all of these players have to make sure they're in a certain type of light."

Former teammate Jevon Kearse said he wouldn't have had a problem playing alongside Davis if he had known.

"I know there have been a lot more than just Wade," Kearse said. "It's just becoming more acceptable, which is a good thing so they can come out and not feel secluded."

Davis, 34, now works for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in New York City.

"It’s the first job since football that I wake up excited for work," Davis said. "For these kids, the question isn’t whether they are shooting a basketball well, it’s whether they have a place to sleep tonight, whether they’ve eaten today."

However, Davis does say it would be difficult for an active player to come out, especially if that player isn't a star, and gives a glimpse of just how difficult a decision it was for him to come out this week.

"I'll be flat-out honest with you, it probably shouldn't be if he wants to keep his job," Davis told SBNation.com. "If he's a free agent who's fighting for his job, maybe he shouldn't. I don't want to tell someone to give up their lifelong dream of playing in the NFL."

But, after thinking it over a moment, Davis amends his comment.

"You know what? Yes, it should be. Screw it. I don't want to be in the business of telling anyone they can't live their life authentically."

[youtube]B-Q02N85NOE[/youtube]

Wade Davis, Former Football Player, On Being Gay In The NFL


"I started to realize that, you know what, there's an opportunity here for me to really make and effect change, not only within myself but in the world."

So explains Wade Davis, a former NFL cornerback who came out as gay last year after playing with the Tennessee Titans, and later with the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins, from 2000-2004.

Now, however, the 34-year-old Davis is coming forward about the challenges of being a gay man in the NFL for the first time, via revealing interviews with both SB Nation and Outsports. "I think subconsciously, I understood that being gay...the way I was raised...was wrong, and there was no way that my family, at least in my mind, would accept me," he confesses to SBNation's Amy Nelson. "And also that my football family would [not] accept me, just because of the perception of being gay meant that you're less masculine."

Though the idea of having an openly gay man in the locker room may make other heterosexual players uncomfortable, Davis notes, "At never a point [during] my NFL playing career did I take advantage of the privilege that I had to see a man naked. I never even remotely got aroused in the locker room." He explained his reasoning in further detail to Out Sports: "You just want to be one of the guys, and you don’t want to lose that sense of family. Your biggest fear is that you’ll lose that camaraderie and family."

These days, it's his work off the field that Davis wants to be most remembered for: he's now a staff member at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning youth in New York City. “It’s the first job since football that I wake up excited for work,” Davis, who also does campaign work for President Obama, told Out Sports' Cyd Zeigler. “For these kids, the question isn’t whether they are shooting a basketball well, it’s whether they have a place to sleep tonight, whether they’ve eaten today."

Still, Davis seems to still have residual hesitation about active football players coming out. When Nelson asks him if it's possible for a reserve player rather than a star quarterback to come out as gay, Davis notes, "I'll be flat-out honest with you...it probably shouldn't be if he wants to keep his job. If he's a free agent who's fighting for his job, maybe he shouldn't...I don't want to tell someone to give up their lifelong dream of playing in the NFL."

But then, a moment later, he adds, "You know what? Yes, it should be. Screw it. I don't want to be in the business of telling anyone they can't live their life authentically."

[Beeyotch]

Wow. I don't keep up with football, but I think it's a pretty BFD when an athlete comes out. Good for him, he sounds happy and focused on helping others in similar situations.

[Sojiita]

Seems like a great guy, and pretty damn sexy as well-glad he is on our team.

[Brookie]

Love this guy's courage.

[greysfang]

Good for him.

[MohandasKGanja]

I only watched a couple of minutes, but that is a smart, polished guy. He could have a bright future in a lot of areas, including politics.

[SuriCruise]

I don't know who he is but he is very courageous and obviously very smart and articulate.

[dallison]

Good for him.

Also, good on Jevon Kearse for speaking up in support. Makes me feel even better about the pic I had of Kearse in my Grade 11 locker. haha