Jerry Smith, former gay NFL player, deserved better

On Friday, the United States of America took a step forward, with the federal court approving of gay marriage. The decision is fantastic and yet sadly controversial in some circles, with many holding onto outdated ideals that force homosexual men and women to live with an undeserved stigma and fear of outcry and backlash.

While millions are impacted by this way of unfortunate thinking in today’s age, maybe no group of homosexuals are affected more than male professional athletes. While many female athletes have come forward while still playing at a high level, such as Abby Wambach of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team, men have a different story. To this day, nobody has ever announced their homosexuality and played in a professional contest for any of the four major sports.

This is not a new problem, as illustrated by the life of former Washington Redskins tight end Jerry Smith. Smith belongs in the Hall of Fame, and yet you have probably never heard of him and gone your entire life without seeing a single highlight. Smith played from 1965-77 and was a two-time All-Pro.

Smith caught 421 passes and hauled in 60 career touchdowns, both records for tight ends when he retired. In comparison, the great John Mackey, a Hall-of-Famer and deservedly so, caught 331 passes for 38 touchdowns. Mike Ditka, another deserving Hall-of-Famer, amassed 427 catches and 43 touchdowns.

Smith was a gay man, although not outed until long after his passing. During an NFL Network documentary: A Football Life, his former teammate Dave Kopay talked about Smith, and how both coped with being gay in the macho NFL world of the early 1970’s. Kopay then spoke about a night when he and Smith had sex, per John M. Becker of the Bilerico Project.

"“I thought this was really good,” he said. “At least I was sharing something of myself with someone who’s close and understood all that I had been through and understood so much of what we hoped… would come. And that’s where we left it — it never happened again.”"

In a USA Today article published in 2014, Smith’s teammate and roommate Brig Owens talked about that time period.

"“If people knew, they probably didn’t talk about it,” says Owens. “There was that fear, because you didn’t want someone to take away something you loved.“He knew I was aware.”"

Many on the Redskins claim they did not know Smith’s sexual orientation. Hall of Fame running back Bobby Mitchell, who played with Smith from 1965-68 but says he was one of those people, per USA Today.

"“As soon as he retired, then the whispers started,” says Mitchell. “Then we were aware of his persuasion, but we treated him like we did everybody else because he was one of us.”"

Smith’s friend from his college days at Arizona State, David Mixner, talked about the pain Smith dealt with on a daily basis in the aforementioned article.

"“He was living in real fear,” says Mixner, who is also homosexual, “and really alone and terrified that he was gonna lose everything.”"

Tragically, Smith contracted the AIDS virus and died at the age of 43 in 1986. Today, the Redskins remember him with the distinction of being in their Ring of Honor. However, Smith is still without the induction he has always deserved, the bust in Canton, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It is easy to say things have gotten better, because they have. Michael Sam was able to announce his homosexuality before the 2014 NFL Draft and was chosen regardless by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round before being cut in training camp. Sam was recently signed by the Montreal Alouttes of the Canadian Football League, but ultimately left without disclosing a reason publicly.

Still, there is so much further we have to come as a society, especially when talking about professional sports. Take former San Francisco 49ers and current Redskins cornerback Chris Culliver, who made the following statement before Super Bowl XLVII in Jan. 2013, per Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports.

"“I don’t do the gay guys man,” said Culliver. “I don’t do that. No, we don’t got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do.“Can’t be with that sweet stuff. Nah…can’t be…in the locker room man. Nah.”"

Culliver then apologized, but the damage was already done. Certainly, Culliver does not represent the thoughts of all NFL players, but that kind of outburst can set back the conversation horribly.

Hopefully, one day, there will be no need to make an announcement. In a perfect world, nobody would care. For men like Smith, who had to endure inner-turmoil his entire life, we can only hope he knows he wasn’t any less of a man for his sexual preferences.

Maybe, one day, Smith can be the first known gay man to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.