Michael Sam became the first high-level football player to publicly reveal he is gay, but that doesn’t mean he’s the first openly gay player in the NFL.
Senior Vice President of player engagement Troy Vincent says he played with six openly gay players during his career.
Vincent, who made five Pro Bowls during his 15-year career, was speaking at an annual league meeting with sports editors when he made the revelation.
“I think what has changed over the years is now that it has become public,” Vincent said Thursday via USA Today. “In my 15 years in the NFL, I played with six openly gay players in the locker room. It’s a workplace and it’s up to those individuals to disclose their sexual orientation. We’ve also been working alongside Michael [Sam’s] team, as a prospect and just preparing him for what life is like an NFL player … It’s nothing new for the players inside the locker room, but I think the player addressing that publicly is something we’re working on.”
Vincent played in the league from 1992-2006. He spent four seasons in Miami, eight in Philly, nearly three in Buffalo and part of a season with the Redskins.
With every athlete that comes out, we get closer and closer to players’ sexuality no longer being stories. But because we’re still breaking barriers and new ground, it remains headline news when an athlete publicly reveals that they are gay. Gay players have been in the NFL and others sports for years, the only difference is that the news was never made public.
