NFL veteran free agent Ryan Russell opens up on his sexuality in a first-person essay to @kevinarnovitz: https://t.co/bUKezbx4Cz pic.twitter.com/B5HEyBUQjb
— ESPN (@espn) August 29, 2019
“I started living openly as a member of the LGBTQ community, and living unapologetically, and living without second-guessing. I’ve been able to live this genuine existence and hold my boyfriend’s hand in public.
“For me now, there’s no going back.”
“My boyfriend was adamant that being bi was a phase and I was just ashamed to say I was gay. And this being my first introduction to the queer community, I kind of believed him.”
“He said respected veterans like Tony Romo and Jason Witten were the epitome of the white-picket-fence, standard American family. Any casual talk about sexuality with the guys in football made it clear that people were expected to be one or the other, gay or straight. “Bi” was viewed as just a “phase.”
It wasn’t a phase for Russell. As he dated men and women alternately, he came to realize that he was naturally, truly attracted to people of different genders. At the time, it was just easier for him to keep one of those attractions a secret from his football family.
“Being a bisexual individual and dating women publicly and dating men privately, I felt a duality in my life,” Russell explained. “It was easier to just blend into a locker room and blend into society.”
Quietly observing from the closet while playing for three NFL teams, Russell hasn’t found NFL locker rooms to be hostile despite the occasional misinformed comment about bisexuality.”
Respect his willingness to share his story.
Not sure it’s going to help him land on an NFL roster.
In fact, it’s probably going to make it a lot more difficult.
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