1. EDWARD
It feels like LGBTQ athletes shouldn't be a big deal in 2017. However, for a lot of sports stars, their sexuality is either kept quiet, closeted, or the subject of some completely bogus conjectures. These stars were all rumored to be gay … and only a few of them actually are.
2. Michael Sam
NFL hopeful Michael Sam came out as gay to his University of Missouri teammates in 2013, then to ESPN as an "openly proud gay man" just before the NFL draft in 2014, making him the first openly gay man to be drafted by an NFL team. His decision to come out at the time because he had "sensed that rumors were circulating," according to the New York Times.
Still, despite his heroic statements, he now thinks that coming out hurt his career, and he may be right: Sam was the first SEC Defensive Player of the Year in eight years drafted outside the first round — waiting until the seventh round for the St. Louis Rams to pick him up (and that was just eight picks before being entirely shut out). Soon the Rams cut him and he landed a spot on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad before retiring in 2015 to focus on his mental health.
"I think if I never would have came out, never would have said those words out to the public, I would still be currently in the NFL," he told the Edge Of Sports podcast in May 2016. "But because of me saying those words, I think it could have played a huge part in my current situation. I know how to play this game, I can play this game … I don't know what goes on in the NFL with the guys who are making the decisions, but whatever it is, hopefully it's not what I think it is … I don't regret coming out but I do wish things would have gone differently."
Incidentally, Sam has also implied that his story isn't an isolated incident. "I am not the only gay person in the NFL," he said in 2015.
3. Jason Collins
In April 2013, 7-foot NBA center Jason Collins came out of the closet, making him the first openly gay professional athlete to compete in the four major sports leagues.
A free agent at the time, Collins wrote in Sports Illustrated, "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport … I go against the gay stereotype, which is why I think a lot of players will be shocked: 'That guy is gay?' But I've always been an aggressive player, even in high school … Loyalty to my team is the real reason I didn't come out sooner. When I signed a free-agent contract with Boston last July, I decided to commit myself to the Celtics and not let my personal life become a distraction. When I was traded to the Wizards, the political significance of coming out sunk in. I was ready to open up to the press, but I had to wait until the season was over." He also mentioned his statement was being made at the time "in part to keep rumors and misunderstandings at bay."
In November 2014, Collins announced his retirement, writing in Sports Illustrated, "It feels wonderful to have been part of these milestones for sports and for gay rights, and to have been embraced by the public, the coaches, the players, the league and history. It had been argued that no team would want to take on a players who was likely to attract a media circus from the outset and whose sexuality would be a distraction.
i'm happy to have put those canards to rest
4. Aaron Rodgers
Was Aaron Rodgers' relationship with Olivia Munn fake? A lot of people think so, because the Green Bay Packers quarterback has been dogged by gay rumors for years.
A source told The Fame Driven in December 2013 that Rodgers was actually in a relationship with his roommate and personal assistant, Kevin Lanflisi, citing since-deleted tweets from Lanflisi, as well as local chatter for the rumors. The insider dished, "Aaron has attended numerous sports award shows with Kevin, always color coordinated and without any double female dates … Kevin was also the first person Aaron embraced when the Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011 … As of late there [have] been many bitter subliminal tweets on Kevin Lanflisi's Twitter alluding to a relationship much deeper than a friendship he had … because Kevin has never once tweeted about having a girlfriend, just mainly about the Green Bay Packers … There has been speculation for years here in Wisconsin that Aaron is gay."
After Rodgers and Munn's split in 2017, Us Weekly reported that Rodgers was rumored to be hitting up the West Hollywood scene with actor Ryan Rottman and actor-musician Nick Jonas and that Rodgers had made "drastic changes" and frequently got facials and other beauty treatments … which Terez Owens took to mean was an implication that he was hooking up with the two male stars.
Rodgers denied the rumors in 2013, telling ESPN, "I'm not gay. I really, really like women. That's all I can say about that."
It feels like LGBTQ athletes shouldn't be a big deal in 2017. However, for a lot of sports stars, their sexuality is either kept quiet, closeted, or the subject of some completely bogus conjectures. These stars were all rumored to be gay … and only a few of them actually are.
2. Michael Sam
NFL hopeful Michael Sam came out as gay to his University of Missouri teammates in 2013, then to ESPN as an "openly proud gay man" just before the NFL draft in 2014, making him the first openly gay man to be drafted by an NFL team. His decision to come out at the time because he had "sensed that rumors were circulating," according to the New York Times.
Still, despite his heroic statements, he now thinks that coming out hurt his career, and he may be right: Sam was the first SEC Defensive Player of the Year in eight years drafted outside the first round — waiting until the seventh round for the St. Louis Rams to pick him up (and that was just eight picks before being entirely shut out). Soon the Rams cut him and he landed a spot on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad before retiring in 2015 to focus on his mental health.
"I think if I never would have came out, never would have said those words out to the public, I would still be currently in the NFL," he told the Edge Of Sports podcast in May 2016. "But because of me saying those words, I think it could have played a huge part in my current situation. I know how to play this game, I can play this game … I don't know what goes on in the NFL with the guys who are making the decisions, but whatever it is, hopefully it's not what I think it is … I don't regret coming out but I do wish things would have gone differently."
Incidentally, Sam has also implied that his story isn't an isolated incident. "I am not the only gay person in the NFL," he said in 2015.
3. Jason Collins
In April 2013, 7-foot NBA center Jason Collins came out of the closet, making him the first openly gay professional athlete to compete in the four major sports leagues.
A free agent at the time, Collins wrote in Sports Illustrated, "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport … I go against the gay stereotype, which is why I think a lot of players will be shocked: 'That guy is gay?' But I've always been an aggressive player, even in high school … Loyalty to my team is the real reason I didn't come out sooner. When I signed a free-agent contract with Boston last July, I decided to commit myself to the Celtics and not let my personal life become a distraction. When I was traded to the Wizards, the political significance of coming out sunk in. I was ready to open up to the press, but I had to wait until the season was over." He also mentioned his statement was being made at the time "in part to keep rumors and misunderstandings at bay."
In November 2014, Collins announced his retirement, writing in Sports Illustrated, "It feels wonderful to have been part of these milestones for sports and for gay rights, and to have been embraced by the public, the coaches, the players, the league and history. It had been argued that no team would want to take on a players who was likely to attract a media circus from the outset and whose sexuality would be a distraction.
i'm happy to have put those canards to rest
4. Aaron Rodgers
Was Aaron Rodgers' relationship with Olivia Munn fake? A lot of people think so, because the Green Bay Packers quarterback has been dogged by gay rumors for years.
A source told The Fame Driven in December 2013 that Rodgers was actually in a relationship with his roommate and personal assistant, Kevin Lanflisi, citing since-deleted tweets from Lanflisi, as well as local chatter for the rumors. The insider dished, "Aaron has attended numerous sports award shows with Kevin, always color coordinated and without any double female dates … Kevin was also the first person Aaron embraced when the Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011 … As of late there [have] been many bitter subliminal tweets on Kevin Lanflisi's Twitter alluding to a relationship much deeper than a friendship he had … because Kevin has never once tweeted about having a girlfriend, just mainly about the Green Bay Packers … There has been speculation for years here in Wisconsin that Aaron is gay."
After Rodgers and Munn's split in 2017, Us Weekly reported that Rodgers was rumored to be hitting up the West Hollywood scene with actor Ryan Rottman and actor-musician Nick Jonas and that Rodgers had made "drastic changes" and frequently got facials and other beauty treatments … which Terez Owens took to mean was an implication that he was hooking up with the two male stars.
Rodgers denied the rumors in 2013, telling ESPN, "I'm not gay. I really, really like women. That's all I can say about that."