Ryan Russell — a 27-year-old NFL free agent and defensive end who has played with the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Buffalo Bills — recently came out as bisexual which is kind of a big deal considering that there are no currently out gay or bisexual players in the NFL.
Related: This NFL player says there’s at least one gay on every pro football team
Russell decided to come out after the death of his dear friend and college roommate, Joe Gilliam. Russell regularly visited him in the hospital when Gilliam had cancer, and yet Gilliam ended up soothing Russell after Russell’s rocky break-up with a boyfriend.
Russell delivered a eulogy and served as a pallbearer at Gilliam’s funeral when he died in September 2018. Having seen how short life can be, Russell decided it was time to come out.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“There was one very important detail about my life [NFL recruiters] weren’t familiar with,” Russell told ESPN.com. “Out of love, admiration and respect, I want the next team to sign me valuing me for what I do and knowing who I truly am.”
Russell doesn’t feel like he has lied to teammates, coaches, trainers, front-office executives and fans about who he is, but adds that “withholding information is a form of deceit.” He says:
“During the season you spend more time with your team than with your own family; truth and honesty are the cornerstones of a winning culture. My truth is that I’m a talented football player, a damn good writer, a loving son, an overbearing brother, a caring friend, a loyal lover, and a bisexual man.”
Russell says a well-known blogger actually figured out that he was bisexual a while back when Russell appeared in the background of a former boyfriend’s Instagram story. When the blogger checked with Russell, Russell begged him not to out him over fears that it’d ruin his career.
While Russell knows that some NFL franchises might view his bisexuality as a media “distraction,” he says, “There are a lot of problems in the world, and a lot of issues facing the NFL. And I can say with confidence that LGBTQ players having the comfort to be themselves, date who they want, share parts of their life with friends and teammates will not rank among those issues.”
RIGay
Considering how well the league handled Michael Sam… (who? Oh THAT kid! Ya.. he just never meshed with [fill in the blanks] and fell into obscurity after winning the Heisman trophy for best OUT collegiate athlete)…
This is a story worth following.
JaredMacBride
An attempt at humor?
BrandonRobinson1214
Considering how well the league handled Michae….- I have nothing to add But i am here not only to discuss this article but I would like to share with you new but very cool website for gay singles only. It is still private, but you can find it easy. Just google: “ZKurtaJhuGA5yfugu6lu7785365” .
AndreLopez1591
Considering how well the league handled Michae….- Real truth But i am here not only to discuss this article but I would like to share with you new but absolutelly brilliant site for gay singles only. It is still private, but you can find it easy. Just google: “fEOyEYSebpUZPu5Prqc3fugu6lu638844” .
Mr C
Good Luck hon at least you’ll be the Grand Marshall next year during PRIDE!
Kangol2
I was wondering when Queerty would get to this news. Congrats to him for coming out as bi, with his boyfriend by his side.
OTOH, and I could be wrong, but I think his chances of being picked up by any NFL team are minimal to none. Fans, players, probably even the coaches could deal with, but most of the owners are backward-looking dinosaurs.
We’re still a few years off, even after the bravery of Michael Sam and now Ryan Russell, of active or free agent players coming out while still truly, actively playing in the league and game.
Donston
This will be his second season in a row of not be playing in the NFL. And he only played a few seasons at that. So, we’re not talking about a top player or a very well known player or a player who was anywhere near employment before coming out. While once again, we’re talking about an athlete “coming out” when they’re no longer in the league or clearly on their absolute last legs. Nonetheless, good on him for speaking his truth and his frustrations. His article is overall well written. And I appreciate “coming out” stories that aren’t merely talking about being into these types of people or about embracing an identity or self-victimizing, but actually dissect internal and external struggles and personal journeys. But while the article is insightful and well written enough, it still has baggage attached to it.
The headline of his article and some of the text within it comes off as: “Don’t you NFL owners want to prove how ‘progressive’ you are? Then sign me”. And that’s problematic as shit. It makes his public outing and revealing his boyfriend seem exploitative and manipulative. You can’t reveal that you’re into dudes and and dating a guy and try to use it to shame people into employing you. Furthermore, throughout the article he constantly connects “straightness” to masculine tropes and “gayness” to what he perceives to be effeminate tropes. And he does so with no irony or self-reflection or attempt to deconstruct masculine and hetero-normal pressures. That type of perspective often occurs when someone indulges identity and sexual politics without truly understanding those politics or when someone doesn’t fully understand the variety within the gender, romantic, sexual, affection, relationship spectrum. You don’t want to accidentally instigate issues. These couple of aspects somewhat mar his moment. But look luck to him.
GymMan456
The problem here is that the Team owners do not want to show how progressive they are, because they ain’t.
Russell goes neatly around here, and the owners have the chance to hire him as well as any other gay/bi persons.
Manipulative? Because he adds some form for pressure, which is so well directed and deserved?
Oranos
“Russell doesn’t feel like he has lied to teammates, coaches, trainers, front-office executives and fans about who he is, but adds that “withholding information is a form of deceit.””
So, he doesn’t “feel” he has lied, but “withholding information is a form of deceit.” Isn’t “deceit” lying??? He could have left that out in his explanation, because it makes him seem duplicitous. Just say he wasn’t ready to come out and leave it at that.
Donston
He needed a more acute and astute editor. From the headline meant to incite people’s guilt and net him job opportunities, to the redundant paragraphs that added nothing to the article, to the overly defensive phrasing, to the overly simplistic view of things like gender norms, perceived stereotypes, sexuality, identity, the general spectrum- he needed more help. I can’t imagine how he would have come off without an editor and without being media prepped.
JED08
As is usually the case when some guy says he’s bisexual, he’s not, but he is gay.
Donston
What exactly is straight or gay or bi or all the rest of this stuff? Everyone seems to have their own definitions for all this different sh*t. The spectrum is very wide and diverse. While fluidity has some legitimacy for some people. And you simply can’t determine someone else’s sense of self. Ultimately, ego and social/identity/sexual politics mandates people having to embrace some identity when they are “coming out”. Otherwise, they get accused of not keeping it real, even if they’re being 100% honest. So, people feel as if they need to latch on to something. My only think is if you know you’re happily with someone of your gender, that you have passions and romantic feelings and relationship contentment/relationship ambitions towards your gender don’t exude shame or hostility towards that.
Rex Huskey
how much more will we have to hear about this dude and his sissy-ass boyfriend?
WillParkinson
It’s okay, honey, you go ahead and clutch your pearls.
herbbtv
Hey Rex, who do you think you are. He has enough self worth to be able to speak openly and freely from his heart. You my friend can let your co-worker up off his knees from under your desk. You smart mouth who daddy has probably given you everything in life including the dude under that desk. It’s time once and for all the we are Gay/BI/Lesbian/Trans of the world stand up with these athletes and show the the old cigar smoking men of the boardrooms to step aside and make room for there is a new boy in town and love him or hate him, he deserves our support. In my 64 years on earth I’ve yet to go to a health club in town or in a city I traveled to that at lease 75% of the jar heads are in the steam rooms or saunas getting it on. Ryan Russell maybe on his way out but he’s done it his way and with dignity. While in college some 44 years ago and I suspect even more today people are having relationships with whomever they love and if not for love than just plain sex until they find their true love. Thank you Ryan your eloquent words of your poems woke me and I realized I always did what was supposed to be done rather than what made me happy. To my old friends who I offered advice to all those years…OK time to pay the piper! Hope you had a good life.