Report: Ex-Dallas Cowboy to be first known former, current player in same-sex marriage

Jeff Rohrer is about to become the first known former or current National Football League player to be part of a same-sex marriage.

Rohrer and his husband, Joshua Ross, will get married in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sunday.

The news was first reported by The New York Times.

Rohrer was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1982 draft out of Yale. As a linebacker, he played for “America’s Team” for six seasons alongside some of the most recognizable figures in franchise history, including Tony Dorsett, Randy White and Ed “Too Tall” Jones.

Here is what Rohrer told The New York Times.

“If I had told the Dallas Cowboys in the 1980s that I was gay, I would have been cut immediately,” Rohrer said. “It was a different world back then, people didn’t want to hear that.”

However, Rohrer went on to say this.

“I’ve given at least five people heart attacks with this news,” Rohrer said. “But for the most part, many of my closest friends, including some of my former teammates with the Cowboys, could not have been more happy and supportive.”

Rohrer has won several awards for his work as a producer on television commercials. According to the report, he has also has created oil paintings of his former Dallas Cowboys coach, Tom Landry, as well as former Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi and former Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams.

There were only seven previously known gay players in the history of the NFL, according to SB Nation. None of those individuals came out while they were in the league.

Several others, including Michael Sam, participated in NFL training camps. However, none never appeared in an NFL game.

This story was originally published November 14, 2018 at 5:15 PM.