David Kopay

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David Kopay Marquette (* 28. June 1942 ) is a former American Football player.

Kopay was born in Chicago and attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California . In 1961 he began studying at the University of Washington and was running back there in the following years . Kopay received a contract with the San Francisco 49ers .

Kopay played professionally American football in the NFL from 1964 to 1972 . During this time, Kopay was coming out . After the end of his career in the NFL, he was traded as a coach, but according to his statements he was not given a job due to his sexual orientation. Kopay took over the family business and worked as a tiler in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles . Kopay is currently a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation .

His biography The David Kopay Story , co-written with Perry Dean Young, provides insights into the homophobia of straight American football players in the 1960s and 1970s. Furthermore, Kopay mentions in his autobiography the brief affair with the American football player Jerry Smith , who played for the Washington Redskins team from 1965 to 1977 . Smith died of AIDS in 1986 without ever coming out in his life.

Since Kopay came out, only NFL players Roy Simmons 1992 and Esera Tuaolo 2002 have openly admitted their homosexuality in the NFL .

Quotes from Kopay

  • about Martina Navrátilová : She's always been my hero. She's been out there and always stood up for herself .
  • about the Episcopal Church and its acceptance of homosexuality: I get a deep-seated love from them. It's incredible. This is what I need.

Works by Kopay

  • The David Kopay Story , autobiography (co-written with Perry Dean Young ), 1977

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.outsports.com/nfl/2002/kopay0902.htm ( Memento from November 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ http://www.outsports.com/nfl/2002/kopay0902.htm ( Memento from November 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kopay, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kopay, David Marquette (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football player
DATE OF BIRTH June 28, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago