Former NFL offensive lineman Ryan O’Callaghan revealed he’s Gay six years after he retired from professional football. The 33-year-old O’Callaghan made the admission in an interview with Outsports, saying he realized he was gay when he was a teenager and the best way to conceal it was to join a football team. "No one is going to assume the big football player is gay. It’s why a football team is such a good place to hide,” said O’Callaghan, who played for the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs in his six-year NFL career.
O’Callaghan, who was listed at 6-foot-7 and 330 pounds during his NFL career, suited up for the high school football team, seeing it as the best place in the world for a gay teenager to hide.
He also made a commitment to himself that when his playing career was over, he will commit suicide to end it once and for all.
O’Callaghan excelled in college with California
He played college football for California where he won the Pac-10’s Morris Trophy, given to the best offensive lineman in the conference, during his senior year. He joined the NFL Draft in 2006 and was drafted by the Patriots in the fifth round, or 136th overall. "In college football was a great cover for being gay. And then I saw the NFL mainly as a way to keep hiding my sexuality and stay alive," said O’Callaghan, who started in his first NFL game against the Buffalo Bills in 2006 at right tackle
O’Callaghan went on to start six more games in 2006 and a game in 2007 as a replacement for starter Nick Kaczur.
In 2008, he missed the entire season with a shoulder injury. After that, he was waived by the Patriots in 2009. The Chiefs picked up O’Callaghan off waivers on September 6, 2009. He played 14 games for the Chiefs in his first season and 11 games the following year. However, the Chiefs did not offer him a contract after the 2011 NFL season.
O’Callaghan retired after he did not receive any offer from other teams.
Psychologist lauds O’Callaghan’s admission
According to licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Susan Wilson, O’Callaghan’s admission can inspire others in the NFL who are in the same situation as the former offensive tackle. O’Callaghan approached Wilson and admitted about his suicidal tendencies.
The psychologist said she started seeing O’Callaghan after a referral from the Chiefs' head trainer after he developed an addiction to painkillers. In his 15 years working in the NFL, Wilson worked for the league’s substance abuse program and was part of the Chiefs’ employee assistance program as a therapist.
