Wade Alan Davis II (born July 28, 1977) is an American speaker, activist, writer, educator and 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 wi ...

player. Born in

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, Davis grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana and

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in ...

. He played college football at

Mesa State Colorado Mesa University is a public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. The university's other locations include Bishop Campus, which houses Western Colorado Community College in northwestern Grand Junction, and a regional campus in Mon ...

and

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

. In 2000, Davis signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

of the NFL as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

but was cut after the preseason. He made his professional debut in 2001 with the NFL Europe team

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games ...

and won the World Bowl IX title with the Thunder. After spending the 2001 preseason with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, Davis again played the 2002 regular season in the NFL Europe with the Barcelona Dragons. He then participated in training camps and preseasons with the Tennessee Titans in 2002 and

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 ...

in 2003 before retiring due to injury. After leaving the NFL, Davis became the captain of National Gay Flag Football League, the New York Warriors. In 2012, Davis

came 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 ...

, publicly speaking about what it was like to be closeted and

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 ...

in the NFL.Zeigler Jr., Cyd (June 5, 2012).
"Wade Davis Talks for the First Time About Being Gay, Working with LGBT Youth"

Outsports ''Outsports'' is a sports news website concerned with LGBT issues and personalities in amateur and professional sports. The company was founded in 1999 by Cyd Zeigler, Jr. and Jim Buzinski. ''The Outsports Revolution'' (Alyson Publications), by ...

. Retrieved January 13, 2012.Staff (June 7, 2012).
"Gay NFL Player Wade Davis Kept Secret, Feared Locker Room Impact"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

(via

AOL Sports AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

). Retrieved January 13, 2013.Smith, Stephen (June 6, 2012)
"Former NFL Player Wade Davis I Went to Strip Club to Hide from Being Gay"
CBS News. Retrieved January 13, 2013. Davis is the former executive director and former director of professional sports outreach for the You Can Play project, an advocacy organization working to eradicate homophobia in professional sports. During his time at th
You Can Play project
Davis developed curriculum, programming, training, and facilitated conversations focused on inclusion, equality, equity, and diversity. He formerly worked at the

Hetrick-Martin Institute The Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) is a New York City-based non-profit organization devoted to serving the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) youth between the ages of 13 and 24, and their families. It was founde ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York, as the Assistant Director of Job Readiness, where he helped

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

youth learn practical life skills and how to apply them. Davis has been invited to keynote and present workshops at colleges, universities, and corporations around the globe. Davis has used his platform as an athlete to become an advocate for positive change through his workshops, keynotes, panel presentations, interviews, and writings.Penn State News
Athletics to host discussion on You Can Play, inclusion in sports
October 23, 2014.Samantha Neuber
Stanford Cal Athletes Unite for LGBT Inclusion Event
Stanford Daily, January 30, 2014.The Huffington Post
Wade Davis II

Early life and college years

Davis was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

and spent most of his childhood in Shreveport,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He was raised in a Southern Baptist family and went to church four to five times a week.Moore, Darnell (June 22, 2012)
"Wade Davis Jr. Former NFL Player Turned LGBT Advocate The Football Hero-Turned Educator Discusses His Journey from the Closet to the Front Lines"
''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

''. Retrieved January 13, 2013. He was the only boy and the youngest child in his family. He suffered from a speech impediment and did not like to talk, which added to his feelings of loneliness. At seven years of age, Davis discovered football. Davis later moved to

and attended

Overland High School Overland High School is located in Aurora, Colorado, United States, and is part of the Cherry Creek School District. Overland High School is a comprehensive public, suburban, college-oriented institution. It is accredited by the North Central As ...

, graduating in 1996. Davis played college football first at

Mesa State College Colorado Mesa University is a public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. The university's other locations include Bishop Campus, which houses Western Colorado Community College in northwestern Grand Junction, and a regional campus in Mont ...

, a small college in

Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census, making Grand Junction the 17th mo ...

, in 1996. He transferred to

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

of Ogden, Utah in 1997 and played three seasons on the

Weber State Wildcats football : ''For information on all Weber State University sports, see Weber State Wildcats'' The Weber State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Weber State University, located in Ogden, Utah. The team competes i ...

team. As a sophomore in 1997, he blocked two kicks. In 1999, his senior year, he made 11 tackles in one game for Weber State and was an honorable mention All-

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eig ...

selection. With Weber State, Davis made 142 tackles (3 for loss), one fumble recovery, 2 forced fumbles, 20 passes defended, and 2 interceptions.

Career

Professional football

At the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

of 2000, Davis ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...

in 4.55 seconds. The

signed him as an

on April 18, 2000 after the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. Davis was cut after training camp. In 2001, the Titans allocated Davis to the NFL Europe team

. Starting all 10 games as left

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, he wore jersey number 23 and led Berlin with 57 tackles in the season and won World Bowl IX with the team. He also made 0.5 sack, 1 interception, and 5 passes defended. After the NFL Europe season, he spent the 2001 preseason in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. Davis was selected in the first round of the 2002 NFL Europe allocation draft by the Barcelona Dragons. In 2002 with Barcelona, he wore jersey number 25 and made 41 tackles, 6 passes defended, and 5 special teams tackles. Wearing jersey number 42, Davis returned to the

in 2002 for training camp and preseason but was cut before the regular season. In 2003, he participated in training camp with the

and wore jersey #36 but retired from football due to a leg injury.

Activism, teaching, public speaking

His activism, work and story has been featured in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'',Kent Babb
Wade Davis, a former Redskins player turned gay rights activist, worked with NFL on Michael Sam announcement
Washington Post, February 17, 2014.

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

,Soledad O'Brien
Former NFL player Wade Davis says it 'was very, very lonely' being closeted while playing
June 6, 2012.

Al Jazeera America Al Jazeera America was an American pay television news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013, to compete with CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News, and in certain markets RT America. It was Al Jazeera' ...

,Jessica Taff
Out on the field: Former NFL player Wade Davis opens up
Al Jazeera America, May 12, 2014.

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

,All Things Considered
A Shifting Playing Field: Coming Out As A Gay Athlete
October 13, 2012.

WBUR WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. It is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM and produces several nationally distributed progra ...

,Here & Now
Ex-NFLer Wade Davis: League Is Ready For Gay Player
February 12, 2014. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'',Lindsay H. Jones
Owners embrace Wade Davis' message on respect for gay players
''

'', March 25, 2014. ''

Ebony Magazine ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...

'',Darnell L. Moore
Exclusive: Wade Davis, Jr: Former NFL Player Turned LGBT Advocate
Ebony, June 22, 2012. ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the lar ...

'',Jeff Truesdell
Gay Former NFL Player Wade Davis: Out Youth Taught Me to Be Fearless
May 17, 2014.

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

,News Exclusives: Wade Davis Fights for Gay Rights (Part 1)
June 15, 2012.

,Cyd Zeigler
Wade Davis talks for the first time about being gay in the NFL, working with LGBTQ youth
Outsports, Jun 5, 2012. and Bleacher Report.Mike Freeman
NFL Draft: How Wade Davis and Others Paved the Way for Michael Sam
Bleacher Report, Apr 23, 2014. Davis has also been an adjunct professor at both the NYU School of Professional Studies Tisch Institute for Sports Management, Media, and Business and the Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration. Davis joined the advisory board for

You Can Play You Can Play is a social activism campaign dedicated to the eradication of homophobia in sports, centered on the slogan, "If you can play, you can play." The campaign was launched on March 4, 2012, by its three co-founders: Patrick Burke (a sco ...

, an organization dedicated to fighting homophobia in professional sports. On August 20, 2013, he was named executive director of the organization. Davis co-founded, with Darnell L. Moore, the YOU Belong Initiative, an organization offering LGBTQ and straight allied youth a three-day, comprehensive sports instruction and leadership development clinic.YOU Belong Initiative Sports Camp
As part of YOU Belong, Davis also began the Speaker's Collective, aimed at providing support, promotion and sense of community for LGBTQ professionals of color.YOU Belong Initiative, Speaker's Collective
In 2014, Davis became the NFL's first diversity and inclusion consultant, where he works with the NFL and their corporate sponsors to break down the barriers that exist between the NFL and the LGBT community by leading inclusion training sessions and national engagement initiatives. Davis created the "#ThisIsLuv" campaign alongside Darnell L. Moore, to highlight LGBT love in the Black community.Wade Davis II
#ThisIsLuv: Black Families+LGBT People= Love
February 16, 2015. Davis helped launch the Ms. Foundation campaign "#MyFeminismIs" and later partnered with the Ms. Foundation and ''Ebony Magazine'' to launch the "#BlackMenAndFeminism" campaign.

Television

In 2015 Davis starred in the documentary ''

F(l)ag Football ''F(l)ag Football'' is a 2015 American documentary film on the National 🏳️‍🌈 Flag Football League directed by Seth Greenleaf. It documents the training of players on the NGFFL's New York Warriors team as they prepare for the 🏳️� ...

'' about the

National Gay Flag Football League National Gay Flag Football League (NGFFL) is a nonprofit LGBT flag football league, currently comprising 200 teams in 22 leagues in the United States and Canada. History The NGFFL was founded by Jim Buzinski and Cyd Zeigler in 2002. Teams c ...

. The following year he guest-starred on season 2 of the critically acclaimed drama '' American Crime'' in 2016. In 2019, he appeared as himself in a guest role in "Adam Ruins a Sitcom", a third-season episode of the series ''

Adam Ruins Everything ''Adam Ruins Everything'' is an American educational comedy television series starring Adam Conover that ran from 2015 through 2019 on TruTV. The series endeavors to debunk common misconceptions held by the public on a variety of topics. Premise ...

'', in which he sought to raise awareness of

toxic masculinity Toxic masculinity is a set of certain male behaviors associated with harm to society and men themselves. Traditional stereotypes of men as socially dominant, along with related traits such as misogyny and homophobia, can be considered "toxic" d ...

Writing

Davis' writing has appeared in ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'',Wade Davis
Coming Out: Is It All About You?
Huff Post, October 11, 2012.Wade Davis and Darnell L. Moore

''Huff Post Gay Voices,'' July 27, 2012.Wade Davis

Huff Post Gay Voices, June 21, 2012. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'',Wade Davis
The Bravest of All, Michael Sam Moves Us Forward
SI.com, Feb. 10, 2014.Wade Davis
"Only Love Drives Out Hate"
''

'' July 24, 2014. '' The Advocate'',Wade Davis
"Op-ed: How the NFL Is Tackling LGBT Issues"
'' The Advocate'', January 31, 2014.Wade Davis
"Op-ed: How Straight Silence Betrays Gay Teammates"
''The Advocate'', February 1, 2013.''Good Housekeeping''
and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Davis' contributions are included in the book, ''For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Still Not Enough: Coming of Age, Coming Out, and Coming Home'' by Keith Boykin. His memoir, ''Interference,'' was scheduled to be released in 2015. The memoir will chronicle his struggles growing up in a strict religious household and working and advocating for LGBTQ rights.

Affiliations and memberships

Davis was appointed to the board of GMHC.Press Release
GMHC Expands Leadership
February 3, 2015. He became a member of the

Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network GLSEN (pronounced ''glisten''; formerly the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) is an American education organization working to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender ex ...

sport-advisory board in 2012.The GLSEN Sports Project, Changing the Game Advisory Group
"Wade Davis"

. Davis is a supporter of President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

,Opalewski, Kate (June 7, 2012)
"Wade Davis Out for Obama Former Out NFL Player on Paying It Forward"
'' Between the Lines'' (via

PrideSource ''Between the Lines'' is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper in the Michigan area. It is headquartered in Livonia, Metro Detroit.

). Retrieved January 13, 2013. and worked as an LGBT surrogate for his 2012 reelection campaign.(May 4, 2016)

During the 2016 United States presidential election, 2016 presidential election, Davis criticized

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

for "not having real courage" and endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders.

Awards and honors

* In 2014, Davis received an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Northeastern University for his leadership and ongoing efforts to eradicate homophobia and sexism in athletics.News at Northeastern
Northeastern announces 2014 honorary degree recipients
April 4, 2014. * Named one of the 50 Black LGBT Adults That Black LGBT Youth Should Know. 2012, National Youth Pride Services * Named #46 on ''The Root 100,'' Black influencers and achievers, in ranked orderHolloway, Lynette (undated).
"2012 The Root 100 Wade Davis II Is an Ex-NFL Player Who Came Out of the Closet to Help Gay Athletes and Youths"
''

The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, ''Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...

''. Retrieved January 13, 2013. *

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...

Founder's Award, Hispanic and Black Gay Coalition, 2012Dan Meyer
HBGC Honors NFL’s Wade Davis, Jr.
Nov 23, 2012

References

External links

* * Staff (undated).
"Wade Davis, Jr."
''

''. Retrieved January 13, 2013. * Harosh, Alon (June 7, 2013)
"Davis Says He Feared Coming Out Would Sink NFL Career"

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

. Retrieved January 13, 2013. * Boykin, Keith (June 7, 2012).
"Wade Davis Comes Out on CNN"
4coloredboys.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013. * Garcia, Michelle (August 14, 2012).
"Football Player Wade Davis Helps Young Heroes Soar Wade Davis Talks About Being Closeted in the NFL, Masculinity and Sport, and His Second Dream Job: Helping LGBT Youth"
'' The Advocate''. Retrieved January 13, 2013. *Main Website
"Wade Davis"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Wade 1977 births 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers Barcelona Dragons players Berlin Thunder players Gay sportsmen LGBT African Americans American gay writers Colorado Mesa Mavericks football players LGBT players of American football LGBT rights activists from the United States Living people Sportspeople from Aurora, Colorado Players of American football from Arkansas Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana Players of American football from Colorado Sportspeople from New York City Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Weber State Wildcats football players Writers from Louisiana Writers from New York City LGBT people from Arkansas LGBT people from Louisiana Tennessee Titans players Seattle Seahawks players Washington Redskins players 20th-century American male writers American LGBT sportspeople 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American people African-American male writers LGBT educators