Vince Lombardi is widely recognized as one of the greatest leaders in sports history. The legendary NFL coach won five championships, including the first two Super Bowls, and was victorious in 75% of his games. The Super Bowl trophy is even named after him.
There isn’t a bigger honor than that.
But for LGBTQ+ sports fans, Lombardi’s legacy extends well beyond his brilliance on the gridiron. The Pro Football Hall of Famer was a champion of gay rights long before his time. In fact, Lombardi worked with at least five gay men–three players and two executives–during his final NFL season… way back in 1969.
Given all the recent controversy surrounding Pride Night festivities in sports, it’s important to recognize the true trailblazers. If Lombardi were still alive, he definitely would’ve supported Pride, and demanded his players do the same.
When NBA player Jason Collins publicly came out as gay in 2013, ESPN ran a feature story chronicling Lombardi’s long-time support of LGBTQ+ rights. His brother was gay, providing Lombardi with a greater understanding of gay people during a time in which homosexuality was still viewed as taboo.
The partner of Lombardi’s brother, Hal, always said he thought Vince always treated gay people well because of him. Though Hal’s partner, Richard Nicholls, never met Vince (he died suddenly in 1970 due to cancer), he thinks the all-time great Green Bay Packers coach would’ve been supportive regardless.
“Through Hal and in what I’d read and seen, Vin was always fair in how he treated everybody,” he told ESPN. “I just thought he appeared to be a great man who accepted people at face value for what they were, and didn’t judge anybody. He just wanted you to do the job.”
Lombardi demanded excellence from his players, and received it. He never endured a losing season, and went 9-1 in the playoffs.
He also demanded tolerance. While coaching Washington, one of his players, running back Ray McDonald, was arrested for having sex with another man in public. Afterwards, Lombardi told his assistant coaches they would be fired if they denigrated McDonald for his sexual orientation.
“If I hear one of you people make reference to his manhood, you’ll be out of here before your ass hits the ground,” said Lombardi, according to his biographer David Maraniss.
In addition, Lombardi coached David Kopay, the first major team-sport athlete to publicly came out as gay, and Jerry Smith, who was widely acknowledged to be gay (Smith died of HIV-related complications in 1986).
In an ESPN interview, Kopay said Lombardi protected Smith, and Washington’s two gay execs, including David Slattery, who came out in 1993.
“Lombardi protected and loved Jerry,” said Kopay.
After winning five championships in Green Bay, Lombardi arrived in Washington with carte blanche. He didn’t tolerate discrimination of any kind, refusing to stay in hotels or dine in restaurants that refused service to Black players. When a Black defensive end, Lionel Aldridge, married a white woman, the coach blessed the union.
Lombardi’s daughter, Susan, said his experiences growing up as a dark-skinned Italian framed his intolerance for bigotry of any kind.
“My father was way ahead of his time,” she said. “He felt the pain of discrimination, and so he raised his family to accept everybody, no matter what color they were or whatever their sexual orientation was.”
Lombardi’s embrace of gay people is so revered, NFL Network explored the topic in a Lombardi-centric documentary.
In it, Marannis further explains Lombardi’s treatment of McDonald, the aforementioned running back and first-round pick. “He understand that Ray McDonald was gay,” said Marannis. “And Lombardi wanted to give him every benefit of the doubt, and every chance.”
Despite Lombardi’s efforts, there wasn’t a single openly gay active player in the NFL until 2021, when Carl Nassib publicly came out. Today, the league supports LGBTQ+-related causes at the corporate level, and recently unveiled its first ever Pride merchandise offerings.
There is a still a ways to go when it comes to LGBTQ+ inclusion, but the NFL is getting there. Lombardi laid the groundwork six decades ago.
Mister P
Great minds like Vince’s intuitively know compassion and acceptance.
Fahd
What a blessing to have Alex Reimer writing for Queerty — well-wrtten with great subject matter in an engaging article.
It has been awhile – all the pictures are in black & white, after all, but it’s a testament to Vince Lombari’s greatness that he is still a focus of study and a role model; quite the Mensch!
CurtisIsTheOne
Lombardi reminds me of my immigrant Italian American father. When I came out to him at the ripe old age of 25, his first question was “Are you sure?” When I explained I had known for sure when I was 14 and had my first boyfriend, his next question was “Why did you think you couldn’t tell me this sooner when you were a teenager?” I really didn’t have an answer.
My father emigrated to the US from Italy when World War Il was breaking out and promptly enlisted in the Navy where he learned English. He often was teased about his background and accent as a young man. I think because of this, he had little tolerance for discrimination of any kind. He was a very kind and loving man.
Kangol2
Lombardi was far ahead of his time, but we need his societal mindset today more than ever. He also was a devout Roman Catholic (his nickname was “The Pope”) and yet did not hold racist or anti-gay attitudes, or use the Church’s teachings to condemn LGBTQ people. Quite a few anti-LGBTQ and racist so-called “Christians” could take a lesson from his example.