Former NFL player Wade Davis comes out publicly

"During his time as a defensive back for the Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks, Wade Davis was a smart player who spent a lot of time studying and drawing up the defensive schemes he would need to get ahead. He developed friendships with teammates like Jevon Kearse, Samari Rolle and Eddie George, did his best to stay alive in the ruthlessly competitive nature of the NFL, and dealt with one difficult fact -- he was a gay man in a profession where homosexuality was never discussed openly.

It took years after he left the NFL before he felt comfortable enough with himself to publicly admit that he was gay, but as Amy K. Nelson of SB Nation told me, that was a larger theme in Davis' life through the last decade as he looked to find his place in the world.

"There was a lot that stood out from our conversation; one part that didn't make the edit was his feelings about not only struggling with his identity as a gay man, and how difficult it was to hide it for so many years, but also his identity as a black man," Nelson told me. "He would wear his clothes extra large, use patterns of speech that, to him, sounded like he spoke like many of his peers. He said he became the best actor in the world, because he had to for survival.

"He still struggles with identity, both as a black man and as a gay man. He's still trying to figure this all out, but really, aren't we all in some way? His work with the kids in New York City is truly honorable; 70 percent of them are homeless, couch surfers, and they're teenagers. And now that he's campaigning for Obama he's hoping to help the movement. He's a passionate, sweet person, but he's also still an athlete; you can tell, he's still very competitive.""

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/former-nfl-db-wade-davis-comes-publicly-help-150926622.html