Gay Wedding Is a First for NFL

A former Dallas Cowboys linebacker is about to become the first known NFL player to marry a same-sex partner. Jeff Rohrer came out as gay this week, revealing plans to marry his partner of two years, celebrity aesthetician Joshua Ross. The 53rd overall pick in the 1982 draft tells the New York Times he "would have been cut immediately" had he come out to his teammates at the time. Even now, the 59-year-old expects some people to have "a negative reaction" to the news, though some former teammates have been supportive.

"To know that at a time like this, that they have my back, it's f---ing amazing," Rohrer tells OutSports. "I never expected it." Rohrer, who was divorced a decade ago from a woman with whom he has two teenage kids, is set to wed Ross, 36, on Sunday in Los Angeles. The former football player is now a producer of TV commercials. (A father-daughter duo just made NFL history.)