Ryan O’Callaghan, a former tackle with the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, has come out as gay in a new Outsports profile. In a remarkable story, O’Callaghan reveals how his sexuality drove him to suicidal thoughts, but football served as both an outlet and a disguise.
O’Callaghan played in the NFL over several seasons in the late 2000s, including the Patriots’ near-perfect 2007 season. Injuries cost him his NFL career, but not before he made the connections that would help him work through his pain and avoid the suicide he’d planned for himself for years.