Dave Kopay’s Legacy: How an NFL Pioneer Helped Change the Conversation on Gay Athletes

In the mid-1970s, when conversations about sexual orientation in professional sports were almost entirely confined to whispers, former NFL running back Dave Kopay made a decision that would reverberate far beyond the gridiron. In 1975, three years after retiring from the National Football League, Kopay publicly came out as gay in an interview with a Washington newspaper, becoming one of the first professional athletes from a major team sport to do so. This moment placed him at the center of a cultural shift that forced football audiences, league executives, and fellow athletes to confront longstanding assumptions about who could belong in the most traditionally masculine corners of American life.

Born in 1942, David Marquette Kopay played college football for the University of Washington Huskies, where he emerged as a standout running back. During his senior season, he averaged more than 48 minutes per game, earned All-America recognition, and helped lead Washington to the 1964 Rose Bowl, achievements that cemented his status as a tough, reliable player within a hypermasculine sports culture. At the same time, he was grappling privately with his sexual orientation in an era when being openly gay could mean social ostracization and the loss of career opportunities.

Kopay went on to a nine-year NFL career as a running back, playing for the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins , New Orleans Saints, and Green Bay Packers. His reputation on the field was that of a hardworking, blue-collar player whose physical style fit seamlessly into a league that prized toughness and stoicism. During those years, he remained closeted publicly, reflecting the intense pressure many LGBTQ+ athletes faced to conform to narrow expectations of masculinity and heterosexuality within professional locker rooms.

The turning point came in 1975, when Kopay chose to speak on the record about being gay, making him, according to multiple historical accounts, the first professional athlete from a major American team sport to voluntarily and publicly acknowledge being gay. This disclosure was widely covered at the time and challenged the common stereotype that an openly gay man could not embody the physical toughness and competitive drive demanded by the NFL. Kopay later described the sports “closet” as particularly deep, emphasizing how many athletes feared losing careers, endorsements, and community if they came out while active.

In 1977, Kopay published his autobiography, "The David Kopay Story", co-written with Perry Deane Young, which became a best-seller and offered one of the earliest detailed first-person accounts of being a gay man in professional American football. Readers and reviewers noted that the book helped undermine caricatures of gay men by presenting Kopay as both a high-level athlete and a candid narrator of his internal conflicts. The book’s success expanded his visibility as an LGBTQ+ public figure at a time when inclusive portrayals of gay and bisexual men in mainstream sports media were rare.

Kopay has said that after retirement he hoped to move into coaching but believed his sexual orientation led NFL and college programs to pass him over, despite his playing experience and knowledge of the game. Instead, he joined his family’s floorcovering business in Southern California, eventually working as a sales and purchasing manager, while gradually embracing an informal role as an advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports.

Over time, Kopay’s coming-out has been cited by later generations of NFL players as an important precedent. Since his 1975 announcement, several former NFL players — including Roy Simmons, Esera Tuaolo, Wade Davis, Kwame Harris, Ryan O’Callaghan, and Colton Underwood — have publicly come out as gay, many after their playing careers ended. Only one NFL player, Carl Nassib of the Las Vegas Raiders, has come out while an active player, in 2021, highlighting both progress and the continued risks associated with visibility in elite men’s sports. Advocacy organizations focused on LGBTQ+ inclusion in athletics have pointed to Kopay’s example as proof that elite athletic performance and LGBTQ+ identities are fully compatible.

Kopay’s legacy also extends into higher education and community support. He became involved with the University of Washington’s efforts to better support LGBTQ+ students and student-athletes, including financial contributions to campus programs that address the challenges of navigating identity in competitive sports environments. His public talks and interviews, including with major sports outlets such as ESPN , have emphasized respect, safety, and authenticity for all LGBTQ+ people in athletics rather than a single “right” way to be out.

Decades after his playing days, Kopay has reflected on the complexities of being seen primarily as “the gay football player,” noting that he sometimes felt caught between the expectations of straight sports culture and parts of the gay community. Yet he has consistently underscored that increasing visibility — whether through athletes coming out, inclusive team policies, or supportive fan cultures — can help younger LGBTQ+ people imagine futures in sports without having to choose between their identities and their ambitions.