ATLANTA — It’s four days before the Super Bowl, and the floor of the Georgia World Congress Center is packed with broadcast sets, fans posing with the Lombardi Trophy and kids testing their speed in the 40-yard dash. Upstairs, in a quiet meeting space, another event, one you wouldn’t expect during the NFL’s biggest week of the year, is underway. Standing in the middle of a circle of chairs, a man begins a conversation.
“Hi, I’m Wade Davis,” he tells the room. “I’m a former NFL player. I’m also an openly gay man. While in the NFL, I wasn’t out about my sexuality.