Gay football players nfl

Carl Nassib became the first openly gay active NFL player in A few years later, his historic announcement is being immortalized in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Nassib's No. The jersey is the one worn by Nassib during the team's Week 1 game against the Baltimore Ravens in

In the past few years, a number of current and former professional soccer players have come out, and openly gay assistant coaches have made history in the NFL and in Major League Baseball. But no current NFL player has come out. What are the hurdles to overcome? How will teammates, the league, the fans and the media respond?

How many gay or bi-sexual players have played in the NFL over the past years? Outsports breaks down the list of 16 players, who have openly come out publicly. To only have 16 out players among the thousands who have been on preseason, practice squad or regular season NFL rosters 23, and counting in a survey done in is barely a blip and shows the stigma that still surrounds people who play football. Dave Kopay was the first player to come out, in , three years after retiring after a nine-year career.

The jersey of West Chester native Carl Nassib is now on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History , honoring his achievement as the first openly gay player to appear in an NFL regular-season game. The jersey on display is Nassib's No. In that game, he made a critical strip sack on Lamar Jackson in overtime that helped lead the Raiders to a victory. The jersey has been on display since May