Ex-NFL player shares how many gay players he thinks are in the league

Former NFL offensive lineman Ryan O’Callaghan is one of very few football players who came out as gay after retiring, and he says the amount who have shared their stories is not a good representation of how many gay players there are in the league.

O’Callaghan, who has a book coming out on Sept. 3 called ““My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life,” told the Thomas Reuters Foundation this week that gay and bisexual players who are currently playing in the NFL reach out to him regularly. He estimated that there is at least one closeted player on every NFL roster.

“I can promise you there’s plenty of closeted NFL players,” O’Callaghan said. “I think it’s safe to say there’s at least one on every team who is either gay or bisexual. A lot of guys still see it as potentially having a negative impact on their career.”

As someone who kept his sexual orientation a secret while playing for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs from 2006-2011, O’Callaghan understands why gay players would be afraid to come out to their teammates and coaches. He said the non-guaranteed structure of NFL contracts makes it so players who aren’t straight can be discriminated against.

“I just don’t think people understand the reality,” O’Callaghan said. “We can still get fired for being gay or denied services for being trans.”

O’Callaghan believes the only thing that will “really make a difference” is if a high-profile player who is currently playing comes out. The NFL has yet to see an openly gay player on the field. We have had superstar NFL players publicly support O’Callaghan and others for coming out, but players obviously still fear the potential backlash of coming out during their careers.