Find David Kopay in Palm Springs, CA and get their phone number, relatives, public records, and past addresses including Washington. 1963 Washington Huskies football team - Wikipedia Photo by […] Even as a child, he understood that the attraction he felt toward his male friends was somehow different. Filter by state California (1) Filter by age All Ages - … "[Rock] said, 'Dave, I … David Kopay is a study in contradictions. He believes it’s one of the most important efforts he will ever undertake. The stories had used anonymous sources, and Kopay felt that if an accurate portrayal of being gay in professional sports were to be written, it needed a face. He turned to prayer to pour out the guilt he felt. In 1975, Kopay became the first athlete from a major professional team sport to acknowledge that he is gay. Last September, during halftime of the Huskies’ game against Boise State, Kopay was recognized as a Husky Legend. Repository. “It enables us to do more fundraising, because it shows others that if an alum believes in the center and its mission enough to leave us $1 million, then this is an effort that’s worth supporting.” George Zeno, executive director of the University’s student life advancement, says he had spoken informally with Kopay for several years about becoming involved with the University. “It’s in his nature to be outspoken on the things that matter to him,” says Joe Stewart, a production designer in Los Angeles and close friend of Kopay. His subsequent work — he recently retired from Linoleum City, a flooring company in the Los Angeles area that serves a Hollywood clientele — left him comfortable but hardly super-rich. But the very idea of being gay was still foreign to him at the time. Kopay was drafted by the San Francisco '49ers in 1964 and spent ten years in the NFL. When Kopay came out three years after retiring from football, he had no intention of becoming an advocate for gay rights. Their relationship is on solid ground. “Mainly, my differences. David Kopay came out in 1975, before Dan Levy was even born. This is also a man who, in 1975, became the first professional athlete from a major team sport (he retired from the NFL in 1972) to announce publicly that he was gay — an act of candor that turned the most masculine of sports on its head, shattering its definitions of courage and toughness. 'Supposedly the guys didn't know I was queer, but maybe they did,' Kopay told me. Kopay was signed by the San Francisco 49ers, and … “It certainly had to be a challenge for him, seeing the world through his eyes at that time,” says Rick Redman, ‘66, a former UW teammate. He still loves football, and had high hopes for a coaching career after retiring from the NFL. David Kopay & Esera Tuaolo during The 14th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Los Angeles - Arrivals at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, United States. I was raised in the arch-conservative Florida panhandle near the Alabama border in the late 1950s and 1960s. During almost a century of its existence, there have been only twelve known gay NFL players: David Kopay, Jerry Smith, Roy Simmons, Ray McDonald, Esera Tuaolo, Kwame Harris, Ryan O’Callaghan, Wade Davis, Dorien Bryant, Brad Thorson, Michael Sam, and Jeff Rohrer. In 1975, the hunky former Redskins running stunned sports fans when he came out in his bestselling autobiography, The David Kopay … This book was written two years after the event in 1977. Blue-collar and overachieving, he blended perfectly into the NFL of that era, a sport built on collisions and brutality, where introspection and self-awareness were unwelcome visitors. The two speak often and visit each other regularly. Kopay’s father, Anton, who died in 1990, was never fully comfortable with his son’s homosexuality. Years later, when he finally went public about his homosexuality, some former teammates were amazed at his ability to perform under so much internal strain. [4] In 1986, Kopay, without naming him, revealed his brief affair with Jerry Smith, a football player who played for the Washington Redskins from 1965–1977 and who died of AIDS without ever having publicly come out of the closet.[5]. He has retained his jocular handsomeness and muscular build, reminders of the imposing athlete he once was. The David Kopay Story: An Extraordinary Self-Revelation is a 1977 autobiography by David Kopay, written with Perry Deane Young. I don’t want to remember all those other times.”. His mother, Marguerite, who is 94 and in poor health, now understands his decision to come out, Kopay says. His scene features young actor Matthew Thompson and Alexandra Paul. But there, his feelings only intensified, and he was deeply attracted to his fellow seminarians. KOPAY, David. He was on the West roster as a halfback at the All-America East vs. West Football Game in 1964. In 1963, as co-captain of the team, he led the Huskies to the PAC-10 conference championship and an appearance in the Rose Bowl. It’s been wonderful to see how the social climate has changed.”, Kopay, 66, grew up in Southern California in a staunchly Catholic family. In college earned All-American honors as a running back at the University of Washington and went on to make his NFL dreams come true when he signed a contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 1964. That understanding, more than anything, is what brought him back, he says. Twenty football seasons ago, Dave Kopay looked like the guy who could break through the NFL's huddled homophobia. Zeno says Kopay’s gift will be used mainly for support operations and scholarships. His professional football career came to an end long before the big-money days of the NFL. And he remains a public figure — an icon, even — but of the most reluctant sort. Three months later, he left Southern California and the life he had spent three decades building and returned to Seattle, to be closer to a university from which he has at times felt quite distant. Kopay’s time at the UW was marked by very public successes and private torments, and it’s no surprise that he needed a long time to sort out his feelings about the place. He will see things through. KOPAY, David (b. “It is incredibly meaningful,” says Q Center Director Jennifer Self, ‘05. His announcement brought those to an end — he was effectively black-balled from the sport. “In my conversations with him, he told me of his struggles with his identity while at the UW as a football player and in a macho fraternity.” Kopay was eager to help as soon as he could, and last year he wrote out a $10,000 scholarship check to the center, Zeno says. The $1 million gift represents nearly half of his estate. This was the early 1960s, and to declare his homosexuality would have tarred him as an outlier. Haber won a regional Emmy for his report on former Redskin David Kopay's struggles as a gay NFL alum. In his first year, he “I wanted to do something meaningful, to leave something behind that would benefit people whose experiences and feelings I shared and can understand,” he says. David Kopay on Join the People of NGTF flier. We hope you weren't holding your … Dave Kopay: Pos: RB, Career: 111 G, 8 TD, 876 Yds, 3.7 Y/A, 49ers/Redskins/.. 1964-1972, born IL 1942 A couple years ago, I invited him over for Christmas, and we’ve been on good terms since. He is also a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation. David Kopay, an All-American running back for the University of Washington, signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 1964. Between Alex Karras' friendship in … Contribute. David Kopay, '64, became the first professional athlete from a major team sport (he retired from the NFL in 1972) to announce publicly that he was gay He had closeted himself so completely, insulated by his fear and insecurity, that he never attempted to seek out others in his position, much less the city’s gay enclaves. When Kopay joined the Redskins in 1969, he recalls one of his co-captains encouraging his friendship with Smith. It should have been a joyous time for Kopay, but he continued to feel burdened by the weight of the secret he was keeping. Kopay joined Lombardi's Redskins for the 1969 season after having his knee checked out personally by the legendary coach. This is a man who, while an All-American running back at the University of Washington in the early 1960s, was known for his hard-nosed playing style, and who carved out nine seasons in the National Football League on grit and moxie. Use this viewer with your keyboard Add to Group . Three years later, Haber moved to Washington for a job at Channel 5. David Kopay is a member of the following lists: American football running backs, American Roman Catholics and People from Chicago, Illinois.. He is most at peace by himself. BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — David Kopay and Ian Roberts live on different sides of the Pacific Ocean. But the very idea of being gay was still foreign to him at the time. David Kopay, ’64. Kopay has installed replicas of the UW’s famous Sylvan Theater columns in his back yard. ... he enthusiastically joined in the preparations. They belie his age, his arthritis, and the litany of surgeries he has undergone the past several years — a pair of hip replacements, his right knee, his right shoulder. “Just talking about it like that almost reinforces the utter bullshit that society uses to identify gay folks. I am proud to call him a teammate.” In the years that followed, Kopay continued to wear a mask of heterosexual maleness — getting married (and later divorced) and feigning interest in chasing women, hoping to suppress his internal struggle, continuing to live his lie. He was on the West roster as a halfback at the All-America East vs. West Football Game in 1964. In the 33 years since Kopay announced his homosexuality, not one active professional football player has followed suit. Heavily recruited, he decided to attend Marquette University, a Jesuit school in Milwaukee, Wis., after his childhood favorite, Notre Dame, failed to offer him a scholarship. And then to have to fight for others to come to understand and accept that we all have the same rights and responsibilities in this society —  I’m hoping I can at least make a difference in that others in my position will have the freedom to be who they are, and to live the lives they want.”. Collection Title Proper: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Records. Kopay attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. He finally broke through in his senior season, averaging over 48 minutes a game to lead the team. He liked connecting with a hometown audience–he roots for the Redskins–which he couldn't do at ESPN. This city, the University, everything is so different from when I was a student here. His biography, “The David Kopay Story,” was a New York Times best seller. The action described took place at University of Washington in the early 1960's. Login to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. After he retired from the NFL, he was considered a top contender for coaching positions, but he believes he was snubbed by professional and college teams because of his sexual orientation. By: David Kopay. Despite his popularity in a city with a thriving gay and lesbian community, Kopay hid his sexuality, concerned that coming out would damage his career. He attended the University of Washington and he went on to become a Running Back for the following teams: the San Francisco 49ers (1964–1967), the Detroit Lions (1968), the Washington Redskins (1969–1970), the New Orleans Saints (1971), and the Green Bay Packers (1972). I didn’t have the knowledge or strength to take it on then, and even after I did take it on, there were many, many times that it almost consumed me and took me into deep, deep depression. Last September, he announced he would leave an endowment of $1 million to the University’s Q Center — a resource and support center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and faculty. When Kopay reached fourth grade, his family moved to North Hollywood, California. is coauthor with David Kopay of The David Kopay Story (Bantam and. Even today, the league remains a world where toughness is prized, and where weakness, defined within its narrow parameters, is not to be tolerated. When Walt Rock, a former teammate from the 49ers, heard that Kopay might join him on the Redskins, he pulled him aside after a game. I grew to really appreciate the thousands of letters people sent me telling their own stories, but sometimes even that wasn’t enough.”. [2] Kopay was signed by the San Francisco 49ers, and played professional football from 1964 to 1972. To date, more than 1,600 readers have joined the UW Alumni Book Club, representing alumni from every college and school across all three campuses. Nine years in the NFL had formed a public image of Kopay as a lunch-pail-tough character. David Kopay on Join the People of NGTF flier, result 1 of 1. Kopay has been credited with inspiring these athletes to be more open about their sexual orientation. The David Kopay Story - Wikipedia Halfback Dave Kopay and center John Stupey were the team captains. Following his season with the Lions, Kopay joined the Vince Lombardi-led Washington Redskins in 1969. (This story was published in 2004). Kopay's 1977 biography, The David Kopay Story, written with Perry Deane Young, became a best-seller. “But even with all my prayers and acts of contrition,” Kopay said in a 2005 speech, “I wasn’t getting any relief or success in dealing with my deep secret.”. Not that I was really identifying with gay folks at the time, but deep inside of course I really was.”, Kopay’s activism didn’t come as a surprise to those who know him intimately, though. A solid college and NFL running back, David Kopay made a real name for himself in a courageous 1975 newspaper interview: he was the first professional team athlete in a major sport to announce that he was gay. The crowd roared as he crossed the field, and the moment resonated with him. You guys are gonna have fun together.' Kopay (left) horses around with Coach Jim Owens and a teammate at a 1962 game in Husky Stadium. Kopay says he felt an immense pull, a desire to provide the resources he never had as a student. “It took me a long time, too long, to accept myself as I really was.”. Get Movies. The three were joined by David Kopay, an NFL running back with five teams from 1962 to 1972. He entered the University of Washington in 1961. 'They'd say [about Jerry], 'He's a guy who thinks a lot like you. He’s a straight-arrow person, and is never afraid to speak up for causes he believes in.”. David Kopay and Ian Roberts are disappointed that a higher proportion of gay athletes haven’t come out, and that homophobic language on the sporting fields is still rife. For Kopay, the endowment was no small gesture. An immense sense of guilt, the product of his strict Catholic upbringing, drove him to enter a junior seminary in his early teens, in the hopes of becoming a priest and, in his words, “curing” himself. It also rocked his parents and siblings, who have struggled to come to terms with Kopay’s new identity. Kopay transferred to Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, where he grew into a talented football player. He previously covered sports for the P-I and the Tacoma News Tribune. Twenty-three years after publishing his story, David Kopay remains the only NFL player who has publicly acknowledged his homosexuality. 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