It’s hard to believe that 47 years later, with same-sex marriage the law of the land, an NFL coach would have a problem where Lombardi did not. This was all during the summer of 1969 around the same time the Stonewall Riots in New York City were sparking the beginning of the modern gay-rights movement. “And Lombardi wanted to give him every benefit of the doubt and every chance and said to one of his assistant coaches, George Disckson, if I find out any coach challenging McDonald’s manhood, they will be fired immediately.” “Lombardi, when he came, understand that Ray McDonald was gay,” Lombardi biographer David Maraniss told NFL Network. While the sexual orientation of Kopay and Smith were either unknown or secrets amongst the team, McDonald’s sexual orientation was pretty well-known amongst coaches and players even in 1969 when Lombardi took over the team. Yet few know about Ray McDonald, the team’s fullback and No. Many people know about Dave Kopay, who was the first former professional athlete to come out publicly, and tight end Jerry Smith, who is probably not in the Pro Footbal Hall Of Fame simply because he was gay. Not only was his brother gay, but he coached at least three men at Washington who were also gay. Legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi was no stranger to gay men.
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