Rumor mill

On the DL: Six pro-athletes who have found themselves at the center of gay sex scandals

Three men in a row

Another day, another professional athlete dodging gay sex rumors. This time, it’s P.J. Hall of the Oakland Raiders.

Earlier this week, an amateur model by the name of Malik Joseph claimed on Instagram that he and Hall were gay lovers and that he had text messages to prove it.

Related: Male model alleges gay affair with NFL star P.J. Hall and says he has receipts to prove it

A rep for Hall put out a statement accusing Joseph of making “defamatory and slanderous accusations” against the NFLer, adding that Joseph has a “history of extorting men.”

The rep did not say whether Hall plans to pursue legal action against the Only Fans model.

Of course, this hardly the first, and certainly won’t be the last, time this sort of thing has happened.

Here are five other pro-athletes who have found themselves embroiled in questionable gay sex scandals…

Ray Allen

The retired NBA player found himself the target of gay rumors in 2017 when a man came forward claiming to have engaged in a three-year romantic relationship with him. Allen responded by denying the affair and accusing the man of stalking, then filed for a restraining order. In his court filing, he said the man “obviously has some serious issues with understanding the difference between fact and fantasy.”

Related: NBA star finds himself in the center of a gay scandal

Aaron Rodgers

Speculation that the Green Bay Packers quarterback was in a long-term relationship with his personal assistant/roommate first arose in 2013. Rodgers never addressed the rumors, but his Evangelical father allegedly did. In response, Aaron’s pop (or someone pretending to be him) put out a statement calling the whole thing “disgusting” and saying his son was “engaged to a beautiful Christian woman”, though he never identified who the woman was and the wedding never actually happened.

Related: Aaron Rodgers’ “Dad” Is Allegedly Disgusted By Gay Rumors, Says His Son Is Engaged To “A Beautiful Christian Woman”

Kordell Stewart

The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has spent the greater part of his career denying that he’s gay, but in 2015 things got extra weird when Andrew Caldwell, best known for his breathless pulpit proclamation “I’m not gay no more!”, announced he and Stewart were lovers. Stewart responded by telling TMZ he’s 100% heterosexual, adding, “There’s no room in my personality for that lifestyle. It’s not what I believe in.”

Related: Former NFLer Kordell Stewart Denies Romance With Andrew “I’m Not Gay No More” Caldwell

Tim Duncan

After the NBA All-Star’s marriage crumbled in 2013, rumors began swirling that he was secretly bisexual and had been “messing around” with his best friend from college, for whom he purportedly bought a million-dollar condo to keep as a love nest. Unfortunately, we’ll never know for sure since a gag order was placed on the divorce proceedings.

Related: NBA All-Star Tim Duncan’s Divorce Allegedly Sparked By Gay Affair

Aaron Hernandez

After the ex-Patriots player/convicted murderer was found dead in his prison cell in 2017, reports that he had a gay jailhouse lover lit up the blogosphere. Later, a man claiming to be Hernandez’s high school boyfriend came forward to share his story about their relationship. Hernandez’s brother Jonathan also came forward to say Aaron “struggled” with his sexuality. The only person who didn’t seem to think the ex-NFL star maybe probably had a thing for guys was his bereaved fiancee, who told Dr. Phil he was “very much a man”.

Related: Ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez reportedly left a suicide note for his gay prison lover

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