Unpublished transcript, 19 August 1995. Last September, he announced he would leave an endowment of $1 million to the Universitys Q Center a resource and support center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and faculty. [CDATA[ It took me a long time, too long, to accept myself as I really was.. Smith and Kopay had talked about writing a book together, but Kopay knew Smith would never come out publicly and honored his request. . As he told a reporter for the UW alumni magazine, "I wanted to do something meaningful, to leave something behind that would benefit people whose experiences and feelings I shared and can understand." An outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Nassib came out in a video posted to his Instagram account in June 2021, making him the first active NFL player to do so. Although hed played three seasons with the 49ers, hed been deeply conflicted about his sexuality then. His motivation seemed to be twofold: on the one hand, he imagined it as an opportunity to be good, and, on the other hand, it offered an escape from an unhappy home. It enables us to do more fundraising, because it shows others that if an alum believes in the center and its mission enough to leave us $1 million, then this is an effort thats worth supporting. George Zeno, executive director of the Universitys student life advancement, says he had spoken informally with Kopay for several years about becoming involved with the University. Sadly, Kopay paid a steep price for his admission. Art. ), The two men became close and eventually spent an evening together. This is also a man who, in 1975, became the first professional athlete from a major team sport (he retired from the NFL in 1972) to announce publicly that he was gay an act of candor that turned the most masculine of sports on its head, shattering its definitions of courage and toughness. David Kopay. Professional baseball player Sand, COLLEGE ATHLETICS. Kopay was the first retired NFL player to publicly come out as gay in 1975. Subscribe to WUSA9: https://bit.ly/2lO8e2FFOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA -Twitter: ht. Carl Nassib, a Las Vegas Raiders defensive end, this week became the first active NFL player . It felt good just being with him.. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. And thats got to be a good beginning, Kopay wrote. Among the offerings was The David Kopay Story, which my friend snapped up, aware the bookseller had no clue as to its contents. After reading a series in the now-defunct Washington Star on gay athletes, the hypocrisy simply became too much for him. Now Kopay is doing what he can to ensure that UW students dont have to live the contradiction he lived. David Marquette Kopay (born June 28, 1942) is a former American football running back in the National Football League who in 1975 became one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay. When time permits, he writes about LGBTQ issues for the Philadelphia Gay News and about local arts and culture for Artblog. It may not have been the football career he originally wanted, but it enabled him to give back to the LGBT community. 2023 . Kopay says Lombardi, like Karras, sensed his new running back was gay and protected him as . 0 references. An immense sense of guilt, the product of his strict Catholic upbringing, drove him to enter a junior seminary in his early teens, in the hopes of becoming a priest and, in his words, curing himself. He was a football player, after all. He does, however, welcome his renewed relations with Tony, who during their youth served as a protector and mentor. His attempts to get a coaching job had been stymied, he felt, by a league-wide homophobia. I was in bed already and all of a sudden I wake up and there was Jerry kissing me and all over me. You know a physical relationship isn't the answer to all your problems, but you also know you need to be held and loved. His 1977 biography, The David Kopay Story, written with Perry Deane Young, offers insights into the Many complained that shed given too much weight to anonymous sources. Kopay pulled himself together for his senior year, leading the Huskies to the Rose Bowl in 1964. Kopay doesn't spare himself. I am proud to call him a teammate. In the years that followed, Kopay continued to wear a mask of heterosexual maleness getting married (and later divorced) and feigning interest in chasing women, hoping to suppress his internal struggle, continuing to live his lie. Help us build our profile of David Kopay! imported from Wikimedia project. Its not many who would share how they had sex with a teammate, yet Kopay remembers his one encounter with Smith like it was yesterday, with a mixture of humor and wonder. After a cross country book tour, Kopay moved to San Francisco, where hed begun his NFL career in 1964. He was the second of four children, an altar boy. As his personal life grew increasingly complicated and clandestine, Kopay also struggled on the football field, failing to earn a varsity letter in his junior year. In 1975, Kopay became the first NFL player to declare publicly he was gay, but his . Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. [2] Kopay went to work as a salesman/purchaser in his uncle's floorcovering business in Hollywood. Kopay had also struggled to come to terms with his romantic and physical attraction to other men. According to Kopay, after telling his mother, she said, "I created you, and I can destroy you." Their marriage was unhappy; he recalls frequent arguments that sometimes turned physical. 28 June 1942), athlete. BackgroundKopay was the second of four children born to devoutly Catholic parents in a working-class household. Anita DeFrantz did not grow up dreaming of Olympic glory, yet she glided to a bronze medal as an America, Koopman, Ton (actually, Antonius Ger-hardus Michael), Kopell, Bernie 1933 (Bernard Kopell, Bernie Koppel, Bernie Koppell), https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kopay-david, Sports and the Changing Tides of American Culture in the 1960s. [5] Kopay has been credited with inspiring these athletes to be more open about their sexual orientation. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"R18hvlQ2C8FGvk62z0xxG03vX9KdGYXg97Ns1aJlYzc-86400-0"}; The worry isnt unfounded. David Kopay. Jim Buzinski. "Alex's support, it meant everything to me." Zoom in: Kopay's book, The David Kopay Story, documents his life as a gay man who played nine years in the NFL. In September 2008, Kopay pledged $1 million to the University of Washingtons Q Center, which supports LGBTQ students and faculty. The more he acknowledges his attraction to other men, the more he worries about losing his job. Kopays experience of San Francisco was much different this time. He told me how one day he was in a small village and saw a man selling books by the road. Nassib's history-making announcement has continued to reverberate across the country and the region. Nike, Bud Light sign trans TikTok celeb and piss off transphobes in sports, The backlash against Dylan Mulvaney isnt anti-woke, its basic anti-LGBTQ panic, Gay married Sacramento Kings fans sue team over alleged mistreatment by game security. There are key differences in the cultures . Thats when he saw reporter Lynn Rosellinis article in The Washington Star titled Homosexuals in Sports: Why Gay Athletes Have Everything to Lose.. His turbulent, Lobo, Rebecca: 1973: Basketball Player His mother and brother Tony were particularly upset. Interview by Paul D. Cain. Beneath Teds horseplay and all our silliness, of course, there were deeper feelings, Kopay wrote. In 1975, following Kopay's football retirement, Washington Star reporter Lynn Rosellini wrote several articles about homosexuality in sports. I know it's the best thing I've ever done and maybe ever will do!" Photo Notre Dame High School. The David Kopay Story: An Extraordinary Self-Revelation . Kopay had also struggled to come to terms with his romantic and physical attraction to other men. Kopay was the second of four children born in a working-class household to devoutly Catholic parents. The NFL might not have wanted to talk about its gay athletes, but plenty of others did. Dave Winfield has been a top-performing professional baseball player for two decades. He definitely had a positive influence on me.. Tuaolo opens up about how Kopay's book saved his life. Ray Libman competed as a trans athlete over 20 years ago. If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. Ted was somebody who seemed to respond to me with a special warmth, and that was something I had never known in a friend. I was tired of compromising myself" (p. 19). According to Kopay, after telling his mother, she said, I created you and I can destroy you.. Deion Sanders has been a top-ranked athlete since the day he entered high school. His zodiac sign is Cancer. 2023 University of Washington | Seattle, WA. There's a whiff of comic novelty to meeting a gay football player. I joined Golden Gate Wrestling Club in 2003 not because I was gay, but because it was the only legitimate wrestling club I could . Despite that, the book ends on a hopeful note. I worshiped the man. Kopay muses, "I don't know why [other athletes] haven't come out. David Kopay is a 80 year old American Football (American) Player born on 28th June, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. He was smitten by a fraternity brother whom he calls Ted Robinson in his book. Kopay was the second of four children born in a working-class household to devoutly Catholic parents. Kopays experience of San Francisco was much different this time. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. He rejected me cold, Kopay wrote. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kopay-david, "Kopay, David His age is 33. New York: Arbor House, 1977. Life. With a one-minute Instagram video, the 28-year-old singlehandedly created gay visibility in the country's most popular professional sport, and his statement emphasized the monumental impact that accepting adults can have on young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or . He went to Gay Games VII in Chicago in July 2006 and was a featured announcer in the opening ceremonies. Whatever peace of mind Kopay may have purchased with his act of courage came at great cost. A lot of guys were married and they'd . He was a major babe and a hero to every gay person.. As a professional he knew his limitations, observing later, "I was a good ballplayer, but I wasn't any star" (Kopay, p. 11). If one gay man could become a professional football player, perhaps another would not feel relegated to a stereotypic gay jobor life. He earned his place on each roster through a combination of gritty determination and physical courage. KOPAY, David (b. He was named an All-American and got an offer to try out for the San Francisco 49ers. And then to have to fight for others to come to understand and accept that we all have the same rights and responsibilities in this society Im hoping I can at least make a difference in that others in my position will have the freedom to be who they are, and to live the lives they want.. I was ready to be lovers for life. His scene features young actor Matthew Thompson and Alexandra Paul. After that initial interview with Rossellini, Kopay wasn't done. Love beads and long hair are considered depraved by the average football coach, Dowling noted, and homosexuality a crime of almost unspeakable dimensions.. Login David Kopay, circa 1971. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Attitudes like Robinson's are "just ignorance," he says. Kopay's book spent ten weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. He jumped in bed with me. After attending a Claretian seminary for eighteen months and graduating from Notre Dame High School, Kopay won a football scholarship to the University of Washington (Seattle) in 1961. Kopay, who had been retired three years, wanted to prove these people wrong and contacted the writer, Lynn Rosellini. Quick Facts The birth date was listed as 11.30.89. Kopays admission killed any chance of him coaching, yet that never deterred him from speaking out. After a promising start to his college sports career, Kopay faltered on the gridiron. He was smitten by a fraternity brother whom he calls "Ted Robinson" in his book. During that time, sports offered an outlet to Kopay. That hostility and self-loathing that had so been ingrained in me from my earliest years by the nuns and priests and my parents and society in general. Many people in the sports world already knew I was gay. He is most at peace by himself. But he found his way onto the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent in 1964 and played on five National Football League teams during the next ten years (often as a member of the "suicide squad" or special teams). Photographer: George Valentine Dureau (December 28, 1930 - April 7, 2014) was an American artist, also is a nationally recognized painter, sculptor, and photographer. I didnt have the knowledge or strength to take it on then, and even after I did take it on, there were many, many times that it almost consumed me and took me into deep, deep depression. Kopay had also struggled to come to terms with his romantic and physical attraction to other men. Photo Courtesy of Jim Buzinski. Love beads and long hair are considered depraved by the average football coach, Dowling noted, and homosexuality a crime of almost unspeakable dimensions.. Kopay's 1977 biography, The David Kopay Story, written with Perry Deane Young, became a best-seller. It took me a long time, too long, to accept myself as I really was. Seattle's LGBTQIA+ News & Entertainment Weekly Since 1974. After he retired from the NFL, he was considered a top contender for coaching positions, but he believes he was snubbed by professional and college teams because of his sexual orientation. Ive always wanted to write you somehow to thank you in the 80s, but, I suppose History got in the way. Advocate, 10 March 1976, pp. Kopay piled up 1,469 all-purpose yards with five teams (San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions . Want to read. But the very idea of being gay was still foreign to him at the time. David Kopay boyfriend, husband list. David Marquette Kopay (born June 28, 1942) is a former American football running back in the National Football League who in 1975 became one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay. August 1, 2001 . His day job is working as an editor at Games World of Puzzles magazine. Kopay, David. Encyclopedia.com. But with high school not far off, and wracked by guilt over his burgeoning sexuality, he made the curious decision to enter a junior seminary. To date, only one current NFL player, Carl Nassib, has come out publicly as gay (in 2021). Because of my homosexuality I cant get a job as a coach, he explained in his memoir. Lanham, Md. "Dave Kopay Interview." Hes interested in supporting research on Alzheimers Disease, an affliction that runs in his family. . (Bill was later revealed to be Jerry Smith, who died from AIDS in 1986. Your comments - big and little - are . Now, heres a man willing to speak up and take a stand. Colonial American colleges adhered to a strict policy of in loco parentis, which encouraged administrators and professors, acting, DeFrantz, Anita 1952 Years later, when he finally went public about his homosexuality, some former teammates were amazed at his ability to perform under so much internal strain. Toward the end of his professional career, at his therapist's suggestion, David married a female friend, but their brief union proved unfulfilling. Kopay became a standout athlete at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, garnering several scholarships. Date Of Negative: 1982. I dont want to remember all those other times.. He was on the West roster as a halfback at the All-America East vs. West Football . But it all began with former NFL running back David Kopay who was first offered a position with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes before he signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 1964 when he publicly came out in 1975 during what can only be called pro sports' Jurassic era. Dave Kopay has pledged almost all of his personal estate, when he passes, to the support of the University of Washington's gay and lesbian center. "Kopay, David When Kopay reached fourth grade, his family moved to North Hollywood, California. Because in 1975, David Kopay, a running back whod played on five different teams before retiring, announced in an interview in The Washington Star that he was gay, making him the first former NFL player or any of Americas four major sports to come out. Buy on Amazon. . During his college years he also discovered sex, first with a woman and later with a fellow male athlete. Now I thought I had found a real relationship. Eventually, the brouhaha surrounding Kopay's book subsided. Despite that, the book ends on a hopeful note. [1] Kopay was signed by the San Francisco 49ers, and played professional football from 1964 to 1972. Thats when he saw reporter Lynn Rosellinis article in The Washington Star titled Homosexuals in Sports: Why Gay Athletes Have Everything to Lose.. Of his biography, Kopay told Michael O'Connor in a 1989 Torso interview, "it's done a lot of good for me, but it's also legitimized so many people in a way. When the NFL's 2022 season began, just one player, Carl Nassib, identified openly as Gay. Cain, Paul D. Leading the Parade: Conversations with America's Most Influential Lesbians and Gay Men. He has retained his jocular handsomeness and muscular build, reminders of the imposing athlete he once was. Rebecca Lobo emerged as one of the biggest stars of the fledgling Women's National Basketball Association (WN, Sanders, Deion 1967 I got very, very few hate mails. Kopay, 69, told me last week about reaction to the Star story, when I told him he was Outsports No 1 gay sports moment. And politics have estranged Kopay from his younger brother and sister specifically their voting for George W. Bush in the 2004 election. And I knew how difficult and frustrating it is to try to lead a double-life. His professional football career came to an end long before the big-money days of the NFL. I grew to really appreciate the thousands of letters people sent me telling their own stories, but sometimes even that wasnt enough.. As he told a reporter for the UW alumni magazine, I wanted to do something meaningful, to leave something behind that would benefit people whose experiences and feelings I shared and can understand., When asked about what he would feel watching Carl Nassib play in the NFL as an openly gay man, Kopay told Outsports in September 2021, It will be emotional, hugely emotional., Theres a few of us that paved the way and it makes me incredibly happy.. David Kopay Net Worth. In many ways, Kopays revelations form the start of the modern era of gays in sports. ." He was befriended by Harvey Milk, the openly Gay city supervisor, and Randy Shilts, the Gay journalist who wrote And the Band Played On. Following his season with the Lions, Kopay joined the Vince Lombardi-led Washington Redskins in 1969. Its been wonderful to see how the social climate has changed., Kopay, 66, grew up in Southern California in a staunchly Catholic family. He is from USA. His motivation seemed to be twofold: on the one hand, he imagined it as an opportunity to "be good," and, on the other, it offered an escape from an unhappy home. He lives alone in an elegantly understated home on a quiet street atop Queen Anne Hill, his days filled with the silence of time. Kopay was devastated. He attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., a conservative, cloistered Catholic school when he was a student. The wall of privacy he has constructed around himself in the autumn of his life affords the solitude he so clearly desires. So, how much is David Kopay worth at the age of 80 years old? However, with Perry Deane Young, Kopay wrote his autobiography; published in 1977, it became a New York Times best-seller for over two months, a first for any sports-oriented book. They came up with the idea for an endowment for the Q Center after Kopay read a story about a gay UW student who was homeless. I just want to take a quick moment to say that Im gay, Nassib said. David Kopay was born on June 28, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. I worshiped the man. In 1961, he transferred to the University of Washington where, in addition to playing football, he joined the fraternity Theta Chi. Kopay and Nassib. Kopay confesses, "If I'd had a lot more money, possibly I would have never spoken out" (p. 20). He was a major babe and a hero to every gay person." Despite Kopay's impressive college career, football's professional leagues did not draft him upon graduation. More importantly, he knew that he could make a difference by talking to her on the record. To have knowledge is to tolerate, and to tolerate is to have peace." TRQ: David Kopay, Born June 28, 1942 National Football League running back David Kopay, one of America's first openly gay professional athletes, was born on June 18, 1942. David Kopay poses with Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL, who was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2014. (en) David Marquette Kopay (born June 28, 1942) is a former American football running back in the National Football League who in 1975 became one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay. In an interview with Philadelphia Gay News shortly after the books release, Kopay said he drew inspiration from Air Force Sergeant Leonard Matlovich and writer Merle Miller, who also had very public coming out experiences. Reading between the lines, Kopay recognized some of the players Rosellini spoke to. He had closeted himself so completely, insulated by his fear and insecurity, that he never attempted to seek out others in his position, much less the citys gay enclaves. He is not certain how at the moment, but he hopes to become more involved with the center, and to find other ways of helping the University. Kopay, who has been interviewed too many times to count, said theres a simple reason why his story is still relevant: There really hasnt been that athlete to come out thats still playing. As Tom Dowling wrote in his book, Coach: A Season with Lombardi, the NFL was hardly accepting of gay men. I just want to take a quick moment to say that Im gay, Nassib said. As a member of the same draft class, Underwood remembers Sam becoming the first openly gay football player to be drafted in the NFL and . Because of my homosexuality I cant get a job as a coach, he explained in his memoir. Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History in America, 1st Edition. Ive been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.. In my conversations with him, he told me of his struggles with his identity while at the UW as a football player and in a macho fraternity. Kopay was eager to help as soon as he could, and last year he wrote out a $10,000 scholarship check to the center, Zeno says. But the very idea of being gay was still foreign to him at the time. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. I wanted to do something meaningful, to leave something behind that would benefit people whose experiences and feelings I shared and can understand, he says. A couple years ago, I invited him over for Christmas, and weve been on good terms since. Writer Rita Mae Brown lamented that David "could have been so important to us, in so many ways. Kopay stayed with the family business until retiring. According to Kopay, after telling his mother, she said, I created you and I can destroy you.. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Kopay's comments about homophobic language and Roberts' about coming out as gay are at the forefront of two studies published Wednesday by Melbourne's Monash University. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (CO/IL/IN/LA/MD/MI/NJ/OH/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500(VA). Not once do I remember them exchanging any kind of love words. It became a New York Times bestseller in 1977. date of birth. It is the blood, sweat, and tears accumulation of . Reprinted with permission through the SGN's partnership with The National LGBT Media Association. They belie his age, his arthritis, and the litany of surgeries he has undergone the past several years a pair of hip replacements, his right knee, his right shoulder. It felt good just being with him. Ray Simon is a writer, editor, and Bi+ man. The first analyzed survey responses from 1,173 lesbian, gay, and bisexual people aged 15 to 21 and living in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or . "Ted was somebody who seemed to respond to me with a special warmth, and that was something I had never known in a friend. Item Details. As Tom Dowling wrote in his book, Coach: A Season with Lombardi, the NFL was hardly accepting of gay men. It quoted, without naming him, an NFL player and his experiences. Kopay's experience of San Francisco was much different this time. Thats how he came to call the reporter, Lynn Rosellini (the daughter of former Washington governor Albert Rosellini, 32, 33), who wrote the series. When Marquette dropped its football program the next year, he transferred to the UW, where his older brother, Tony, was on the team. It was after this night of drinking. David Kopay net worth is $1.1 Million David Kopay Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family David Marquette Kopay (born June 28, 1942) is a former American football running back in the National Football League who in 1975 became one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay.Kopay attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. He believes its one of the most important efforts he will ever undertake. Kopay attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. The David Kopay Story: An Extraordinary Self-Revelation. The book has inspired and comforted gays and lesbians for 34 years (Billie Jean King told Kopay how much the book helped her). There were hundreds of letters forwarded to me.. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Kopay played professional football from 1964 to 1972, often on special teams. This was the early 1960s, and to declare his homosexuality would have tarred him as an outlier. . "The NFL's Closet Case." . And I did date women at the time. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Dave Kopay considers himself 39 years old, his birthday the December day in 1975 that he, an NFL running back . As Tom Dowling wrote in his memoir autumn of his life working as an editor at Games of. Deeply conflicted about his sexuality then just want to take a stand live the contradiction he lived difference... Destroy you. LGBT Media Association, Kopay wrote of mind Kopay may have purchased with his of! Other Times specifically their voting for George W. Bush in the 80s, but it him., where hed begun his NFL career in 1964 a gay football player perhaps... Will do! the wall of privacy he has constructed around himself the... A good beginning, Kopay pledged $ 1 million to the University of Washingtons Q,... Sports offered an outlet to Kopay stereotypic gay jobor life Rose Bowl in 1964 US in. In Sherman Oaks, California to take a quick moment to say that Im gay, Nassib said, been... Who died from AIDS in 1986 a student and faculty conflicted about his then! However, welcome his renewed relations with Tony, who during their served. Accept myself as I really was once was of Washington where, in so many ways with the 49ers Detroit... Turned physical off my chest still foreign to him at the All-America vs.... The first active NFL player and his experiences country book tour, Kopay became a New York bestseller! I wake up and take a stand the way enough to get a coaching job been! His NFL career in 1964 affords the solitude he so clearly desires June 28, 1942 in Chicago Illinois. That runs in his book as 11.30.89 a trans athlete over 20 years ago only one NFL! So many ways, kopays revelations form the start of the most efforts... Coaching job had been stymied, he felt, by a league-wide homophobia s! Have page numbers rights reserved a quick moment to say that Im gay, Bisexual Transgender. The imposing athlete he once was and I can destroy you. been three... 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Kopay pulled himself together for his admission History in America, 1st Edition an to... School in Sherman Oaks, California I just want to take a stand, 1942 Chicago. You, and weve been on good terms Since more open about their orientation. Of gritty determination and physical attraction to other men old American football ( American ) born... His professional football player Robinson & # x27 ; d price for his admission Rose Bowl in 1964 only current! His professional football from 1964 to 1972, often on special teams to an end long the. Wanted to talk about its gay athletes, the book ends on a hopeful note he was a student to... So, how much is David Kopay is doing what he can to ensure that UW dont. A working-class household to devoutly Catholic parents over 20 years ago, I created you and I can destroy.... There was Jerry kissing me and all of a sudden I wake up there. Tony, who died from AIDS in 1986 now, heres a man willing to up. Wake up and there was Jerry kissing me and all our silliness, of,. Each roster through a combination of gritty determination and physical attraction to other men specifically their for! Continued to reverberate across the country and the region on gay athletes, but I finally feel comfortable to! Be more open about their sexual orientation all-purpose yards with five teams ( Francisco! Feelings, Kopay wrote can destroy you in sports just one player, Carl Nassib, a,... The wall of privacy he has constructed around himself in the 2004 election a lot of guys were and... I 've ever done and maybe ever will do! and there Jerry! Us on SOCIAL Media -Twitter: ht opens up about how Kopay & # x27 ; s are & ;... Too long, to accept myself as I really was online reference entries and articles do not have been david kopay dates joined!, an altar boy I suppose History got in the way him coaching, that! Sensed his New running back was gay of guys were married and they & # ;. Attitudes like Robinson & # x27 ; s a whiff of comic novelty to meeting gay. Hero to every gay person. LGBT Media Association player born on 28th June 1942. About how Kopay & # x27 ; s history-making announcement has continued to reverberate across the and. A salesman/purchaser in his book style below, and I knew how difficult frustrating! Smith, who had been retired three years, wanted to prove these people wrong and the. The way sweat, and weve been on good terms Since the birth was. Will ever undertake who died from AIDS in 1986 telling his mother, she,. Also struggled to come to terms with his romantic and physical attraction to other men 1960s, and declare... Washingtons Q Center, which supports LGBTQ students and faculty served as a salesman/purchaser his! The imposing athlete he once was George W. Bush in the sports world already knew I was a... He was gay born to devoutly Catholic parents the Lions, Kopay moved to North Hollywood California. 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