David Marquette Kopay (born June 28, 1942) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

who in 1975 became one of the first

professional athlete In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

s to

come out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

Life

Kopay attended Notre Dame High School in

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He entered the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

in 1961. He was on the West roster as a halfback at the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

East vs. West Football Game in 1964. Kopay was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, and played professional football from 1964 to 1972. After he retired from the NFL, he was considered a top contender for coaching positions, but he believes he was snubbed by professional and college teams because of his sexual orientation. Kopay went to work as a salesman/purchaser in his uncle's floorcovering business in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. He is also a board member of the

Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation The Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation (GLAF) is a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. Its purpose is to increase acceptance and visibility of LGBT athletes in the professional, amateur, and recreational ...

. Kopay's 1977 biography, ''

The David Kopay Story ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', written with

Perry Deane Young Perry Deane Young (March 27, 1941 – January 1, 2019) was a journalist, author, playwright, historian, and professional gardener. He was the author of '' Two of the Missing'', about fellow journalists Sean Flynn and Dana Stone, who went missing ...

, became a best-seller. In 1986, Kopay, without naming him, revealed his brief affair with Jerry Smith, a football player who played for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

from 1965–1977 and who died of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

without ever having publicly come out of the closet.

Social impact

Since Kopay, six additional former NFL players have come out as gay, Roy Simmons in 1992,

Esera Tuaolo Esera Tavai Tuaolo (born July 11, 1968), nicknamed "Mr. Aloha", is a former American professional football player. He was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 9 years. Football career He played college football at Oreg ...

in 2002, Wade Davis in 2012,

Kwame Harris Kwame Harris (born March 15, 1982) is a Jamaican-born former American football player who was an offensive tackle for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, when he won the Morris ...

in 2013,

Ryan O'Callaghan Ryan Thomas O'Callaghan (born July 19, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football for the California Golden Bears football, California Golden Bears and was selected by the New England Patriots in the fifth ro ...

in 2017, and

Colton Underwood Colton Scott Brown-Underwood (born January 26, 1992) is an American reality television personality and former professional football player. He played defensive end at Illinois State and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free ...

in 2021. To date, only one ''current'' NFL player,

Carl Nassib Carl Paul Nassib (born April 12, 1993) is an American football outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) . He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, earning unanimous All-American h ...

, has come out publicly as gay (in 2021). Kopay has been credited with inspiring these athletes to be more open about their sexual orientation. In May 1977, Kopay was on the cover of ''GPU (Gay People’s Union) News'' of Milwaukee. Kopay appears as himself in a small but pivotal role in the film ''

Tru Loved ''Tru Loved'' is a 2008 independent film written and directed by Stewart Wade and starring Najarra Townsend, Jake Abel, Matthew Thompson and Alexandra Paul. Plot Sixteen-year-old Tru has been raised in San Francisco by two lesbian mothers an ...

'' (2008). His scene features young actor Matthew Thompson and

Alexandra Paul Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model. Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film ''Christine'' (1983). ...

. Kopay became a Gay Games Ambassador for the Federation of

Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...

. He went to Gay Games VII in Chicago in July 2006 and was a featured announcer in the opening ceremonies. Kopay announced in September 2007 that he will leave $1 million as an endowment to the University of Washington Q Center.

References

;Books * ;Websites *
Player Who Came Out in 70s Scores Film Role"

"Dave Kopay, Pioneer Gay Athlete, Joins Cast of Film TRU LOVED"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopay, David 1942 births Living people American football running backs American memoirists Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players LGBT memoirists LGBT people from Illinois American LGBT sportspeople New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Chicago San Francisco 49ers players University of Washington alumni Washington Huskies football players Washington Redskins players Gay sportsmen LGBT players of American football 21st-century LGBT people

Life

Social impact

See also

References