 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "David Kopay" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| No. 43, 40 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1942-06-28)June 28, 1942 (age 83) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 218 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, California) | ||||||||
| College | Washington | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1964: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
David Marquette Kopay (born June 28, 1942) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theWashington Huskies. In 1975, he became one of the firstprofessional athletes tocome out asgay.
Kopay attendedNotre Dame High School inSherman Oaks,California. He entered theUniversity of Washington in 1961.[1] He was on the West roster as a halfback at theAll-America East vs. West Football Game in 1964.[2] Kopay was signed by theSan Francisco 49ers,[3] 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.[4] Kopay went to work as a salesman/purchaser in his uncle's floorcovering business inHollywood. He is also a board member of theGay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation.[5]
Kopay's 1977 biography,The David Kopay Story, written withPerry Deane Young, became a best-seller.[6] In 1986, Kopay, without naming him, revealed his brief affair withJerry Smith, a football player who played for theWashington Redskins from 1965 to 1977 and who died ofAIDS without ever having publicly come out of the closet.[7]
Since Kopay, six additional former NFL players have come out as gay,Roy Simmons in 1992,[8]Esera Tuaolo in 2002,[9]Wade Davis in 2012,Kwame Harris in 2013,Ryan O'Callaghan in 2017, andColton Underwood in 2021. To date, only onecurrent NFL player,Carl Nassib, has come out publicly as gay (in 2021).[10] Kopay has been credited with inspiring these athletes to be more open about their sexual orientation. In May 1977, Kopay was on the cover ofGPU (Gay People's Union) News of Milwaukee.
Kopay appears as himself in a small but pivotal role in the filmTru Loved (2008). His scene features young actorMatthew Thompson andAlexandra Paul.
Kopay became a Gay Games Ambassador for the Federation ofGay 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.[11]
[Kopay] wrote a book about coming out and he got blacklisted by everyone and couldn't get work in the industry anymore and it was kinda sad, but he went on to work for his family flooring business.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
