David Kopay
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:BLP sources Template:Use American English Template:Infobox NFL biography David Marquette Kopay (born June 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies. In 1975, he became one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay.
Life
Kopay attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. He entered the University of Washington in 1961.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was on the West roster as a halfback at the All-America East vs. West Football Game in 1964.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Kopay was signed by the San Francisco 49ers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="Adkins">Template:Cite news</ref> Kopay went to work as a salesman/purchaser in his uncle's floorcovering business in Hollywood. He is also a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kopay's 1977 biography, The David Kopay Story, written with Perry Deane Young, became a best-seller.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1986, Kopay, without naming him, revealed his brief affair with Jerry Smith, a football player who played for the Washington Redskins from 1965 to 1977 and who died of AIDS without ever having publicly come out of the closet.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Social impact
Since Kopay, six additional former NFL players have come out as gay, Roy Simmons in 1992,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Esera Tuaolo in 2002,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wade Davis in 2012, Kwame Harris in 2013, Ryan O'Callaghan in 2017, and Colton Underwood in 2021. To date, only one current NFL player, Carl Nassib, has come out publicly as gay (in 2021).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 (2008). His scene features young actor Matthew Thompson and Alexandra Paul.
Kopay became a Gay Games Ambassador for the Federation of Gay Games. 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.<ref name=naito>Template:Cite journal</ref>
See also
References
- Books
- Websites
- 1942 births
- Living people
- American football running backs
- American memoirists
- Detroit Lions players
- Green Bay Packers players
- Gay memoirists
- LGBTQ people from Illinois
- American gay sportsmen
- 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
- LGBTQ players of American football
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people
- 20th-century American sportsmen