Ryan Russell
As queer people, we have no choice but to be brave. In a world that challenges LGBTQ identities and narratives, just being ourselves openly and honestly can come with a certain amount of risk compared to our heterosexual counterparts. But imagine that in the hyper-masculine world of the NFL at the professional level, entering a space where no openly queer person has done so at that stage of their career before.
When Ryan Russell decided to come out publicly as bisexual in an essay for ESPN at the end of August, he found himself treading new ground. Many of us would consider it a significant act of bravery and strength, but that was far from the motive in Ryan’s mind. “I know at the time of coming out I was more focused on my own survival,” he tells us from Los Angeles. “I was in a position where I was trying out for a team, and things were going really well, and I was on the brink of being finalised for that team. But then I thought about what that would mean for me in my personal life, what that would mean on my own journey of self-discovery and development and self-love. And it felt suffocating, it felt regressive, it felt harmful and I never wanted achieving my dreams to feel that way. I never
