Alan Gendreau was a standout kicker in college at Middle Tennessee State, and now he’s trying to make it in the NFL. Only Gendreau would be making history if he were able to catch on with a team.
Gendreau was the subject of an excellent profile by Cyd Zeigler at OutSports.com. Gendreau played four seasons at Middle Tennessee State and was openly gay to his teammates and coaches.
During his freshman season, Gentreau was the anonymous subject of a 2009 OutSports.com article in which he revealed he was gay. He said at the time that while he wasn’t advertising his sexuality, he had a boyfriend and his teammates could figure out his preference. He said then and still says that he never once had any problem with his college teammates about being gay.
Gendreau came out to his family when he was 15. He has always been extremely religious, and his mother had him go through five church-based counseling sessions where they attempted to convince him that being gay is wrong and a choice. It didn’t work.
Gendreau has had boyfriends ever since and did not hide that he was gay.
Gendreau was a standout soccer player and kicker in high school, and attended Middle Tennessee State on a scholarship. He became the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time leader in scoring, and he raised his profile after going 28-of-34 in his sophomore and junior seasons. But after a shaky start to his senior season — he went 1-for-5 to begin the year — interest in him waned. He attended a kicking camp after the season and had some interest from agents, but that went away. So did his drive to try catching on with a pro team.
This time around, Gendreau is attempting to give professional football another shot. He is putting in full effort with his training and hoping to get an invitation to kick at OTAs in the next few months. If he were able to catch on with a team, he would be the first openly gay player in the NFL. You can read his full story at OutSports.com.
Photo: YouTube/OutSports
