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Former Dallas Cowboy Comes Out Days Before Marrying His Partner
Jeff Rohrer pretended to be straight for most of his life, but is finally happily living his truth.
Former Dallas Cowboy Jeff Rohrer is marrying his boyfriend on Sunday, and he’s finally ready for everyone to know about it.
The football player, who was a linebacker with the Cowboys throughout the ‘80s, told Out Sports that he’s always known he was gay, but it just “was not part of the plan, and it wasn’t going to happen.”
That all changed for Rohrer after he met now-fiancé Joshua Ross at a bar in West Hollywood in 2015.
“I wasn’t sure if he was gay,” Ross admitted, speaking of the moment they met. “But once we started talking, I realized he was.”
Rohrer, who has moved on to a career producing commercials post-NFL, was previously married to a woman, and shares two teenaged children with her.
He told the New York Times, “When I got divorced, I said the hell with it, I’m going to do what I’ve always wanted to do.”
With this wedding, Rohrer will become the first known NFL player, former or current, to be in a same-sex marriage.
While he knows some people out in the world are going to be upset about a football player marrying another man, he says he’s faced an overwhelming amount of support in his personal life — including from several of his former teammates.
Realizing how supportive the people around him have been has caused some reflection for Rohrer on the time he spent in the closet during his NFL years. “I’m not sure about the Cowboy leadership, but the team, knowing the guys and especially how they have reacted to me so far, they wouldn’t have cared.”
But, he admits: “If not for Josh, I’d still be in there.”
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
