QUESTION

What's been the most formative moment in your athletic career as someone who is queer?

Answer

Beyond getting a full scholarship to a Big Ten school, being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, starting at defensive end for the Buccaneers, or having success against some of the toughest competitors ever to play the game of football, the greatest and most formative moment in my career will forever be coming out as the first active player in NFL history to identify as bisexual.

A player rarely has the opportunity to do something that changes his life, the lives of those he knows and will never know, and the game he loves, but coming out and living my truth has and continues to make that impact. Sport and football gave me brothers when I grew up as a single child, fathers and mentors when a single mother raised me, opportunities where there were once closed doors, and times when I felt my lowest sports built me up to my strongest. That is something that all young people, especially young queer people, should have access to, community, support, self-love, and fun.  Sports are for everyone who wants to play them.

R.K. RUSSELL
he / him

is a social justice advocate, published poet & former NFL player. He made history by becoming the first out active NFL player to identify as bisexual. His latest project, "Huddle Men's Journal," is a guided journal for men that helps them explore their personal depths and discover treasures of strength, willpower, and more.