Former NFL player says he played with openly gay teammate in 70s
By Mike Dyce
On Sunday night, Missouri defensive end Michael Sam came out and shared with the world that he was gay ahead of the NFL draft. That means if he gets drafted and makes an NFL roster, he’d be the first openly gay player in league history.
Or maybe not? One former player says that he had an openly gay teammate when he was playing for the Houston Oilers in the 70s and no one cared. He does add that it wasn’t public knowledge.
Openly gay player from Missouri? Had it in the 70's w/ Oilers. Not public. No one cared then or now. Team concept trumped bigotry. Good AM!
— Ralph Cindrich (@RalphCindrich) February 10, 2014
He goes on to say that he thinks a different sector of players have it worse than openly gay players, the hardcore religious types like Tim Tebow.
I'm Catholic, religious & go to church. What I experienced-#NFL player & agent-was 'Jesus Lovers' scorned more than gays. Lots of phonies.
— Ralph Cindrich (@RalphCindrich) February 10, 2014