NFL free agent Ryan Russell came out as bisexual in a column for ESPN on Thursday, and he has not given up on making a comeback to the league.
Russell, a defensive end who played in the league from 2015 to 2017, missed all of last season with a shoulder injury. Ready for another shot at the NFL, he said he felt it was important to be honest with the public.
“Have I lied to teammates, coaches, trainers, front-office executives and fans about who I am? Not exactly. But withholding information is a form of deceit,” he wrote. “And I want the next part of my career — and life — steeped in trust and honesty.”
If an NFL team were to sign Russell, he would be the only active openly gay or bisexual player in one of America’s major four sports leagues: the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL.
Ultimately, Russell can do what he wants when it comes to his sexual orientation. It should not influence whether a team wants to sign him or not, as professional sports are supposed to be a meritocracy. When it comes to a player’s sexuality, the only thing teams should worry about is whether or not they can help the team win games.
A player’s sexual orientation does not affect their ability to play the game. There have been plenty of gay and bisexual athletes to play in top-tier professional sports leagues over the years, it’s just that they did not come out until after their careers had ended because of society’s view of same-sex relationships.
Being gay did not stop former New England Patriots offensive lineman Ryan O’Callaghan from helping the team to a 16-0 regular season in 2007, nor did it prevent Jason Collins, a retired NBA player, from helping the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals in the 2002-2003 season as their starting center and as a bench player one season prior. Neither of them were openly gay at that point in their careers, but their orientation was the same.
In fact, O’Callaghan recently stated he believes there are far more gay players in professional sports than one would think. He said there is likely at least one gay or bisexual player on all 32 NFL teams, they just have yet to come out publicly.
There certainly are more gay and bisexual pro athletes than the ones who are publicly “out”. Former MLB pitcher and staunch conservative Curt Schilling noted he had a handful of gay teammates over the course of his 20-year career, and while he was personally opposed to gay marriage, had no issue playing alongside gay teammates.
Most pro athletes don’t care if their teammates are not straight. A 2014 survey of NFL players found that 86% did not care about their teammates orientation, and since five years have passed, presumably that number would be even higher today.
If players don’t feel like coming out publicly and don’t want to talk about their sexual orientation, that’s fine. However, if one is openly bisexual or gay and can play well, a team would be crazy not to sign them. Let’s hope more players like Russell feel free to be open about who they are, and are judged solely based on what they can do on the field.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a freelance sports writer who has been published with USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Federalist, and a number of other media outlets.
