NFL free agent Ryan Russell came out as bisexual in a first-person essay for ESPN Thursday morning. Russell has spent four years in the league, having played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“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,” he wrote. “Today, I have two goals: returning to the NFL, and living my life openly. I want to live my dream of playing the game I’ve worked my whole life to play, and being open about the person I’ve always been.”
Russell continued, “Those two objectives shouldn’t be in conflict. But judging from the fact that there isn’t a single openly LGBTQ player in the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball or the NHL, brings me pause. I want to change that — for me, for other athletes who share these common goals, and for the generations of LGBTQ athletes who will come next.”
The defensive end missed the entire 2018 season after suffering a shoulder injury the season before and is now looking to sign with a team.
Russell was drafted in the fifth round in 2015, one year after Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted into the league. Sam, who played the same position as Russell, came out after completing his college football career but prior to the draft. Sam never played in an NFL game.
