Ryan O'Callaghan

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Ryan O'Callaghan
Ryan O'Callaghan.JPG
O'Callaghan with the Chiefs in 2010
No. 68, 75
Position: Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1983-07-19) July 19, 1983 (age 41)
Susanville, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:330 lb (150 kg)
Career information
High school: Enterprise (Redding, California)
College: California
NFL draft: 2006  / round: 5 / pick: 136
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:51
Games started:20
Fumble recoveries:2
Player stats at PFR

Ryan Thomas O'Callaghan (born July 19, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle. [1] He played college football for the California Golden Bears and was selected by the New England Patriots in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft. [2] [3] He also played for the Kansas City Chiefs. [4]

Contents

Professional career

New England Patriots

As a rookie, O'Callaghan started in his first NFL game against the Buffalo Bills in 2006 at right tackle. [5] He would go on to start six games in 2006, as well as a game in 2007, filling in for injured starter Nick Kaczur. O'Callaghan missed the entire 2008 season after being placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury on August 28. He was waived by the Patriots on September 5, 2009, during final cuts.

Kansas City Chiefs

O'Callaghan was picked up off waivers by the Kansas City Chiefs on September 6, 2009, after being released by New England the previous day. He started 12 games that year. The Chiefs re-signed O'Callaghan on April 15, 2010. [6] He played in 11 games with one start.

Honors and awards

While at the University of California, Ryan won the Morris Trophy, [7] which is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive lineman in the PAC 12 conference. On December 20, 2014, O'Callaghan was inducted into the Shasta County Sports Hall of Fame along with several other athletes from Shasta County, California, such as Max Burch, Sam Enochian, Jeff Foster, Ricky Ray, Megan Rapinoe, Eddie Wilson, and Mark Wilson. [8]

Personal life

O'Callaghan was raised in Redding, California. [9] In June 2017, he came out as gay in an interview with Outsports . [10] [11] He shared his struggle with self-acceptance and that he had convinced himself that no one would accept him as a gay man, reconciling that he would end his life when his football career had ended. The turning point was when he came out to the Chiefs' clinical psychologist, Susan Wilson, and then later to teammates and family, who were all supportive. He now speaks openly about his struggles and coming out. [12] [13] [14]

In 2019 his autobiography, My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life, was published. [15] [16] He started the Ryan O'Callaghan Foundation, which provides scholarships to LGBT youth. [17] [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

David Marquette Kopay is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) who in 1975 became one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esera Tuaolo</span> American football player (born 1968)

Esera Tavai Tuaolo, nicknamed "Mr. Aloha", is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonie Paxton</span> American football player (born 1978)

Leonidas E. "Lonie" Paxton III is an American former football long snapper who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Sacramento State Hornets and was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent after the 2000 NFL draft. Paxton also played in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.

Matthew Joseph Willig is an American actor and former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyd Zeigler</span> American journalist

Cyd Zeigler Jr. is a commentator and author in the field of sexuality and sports. Zeigler co-founded Outsports and the National Gay Flag Football League. He had a featured part in the documentary F(l)ag Football (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wade Davis (American football)</span> American football player

Wade Alan Davis II is an American speaker, activist, writer, educator and former American football player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homosexuality in American football</span> LGBTQ history in American Football

There has been only one player who has publicly come out as gay or bisexual while being an active player in the National Football League (NFL): Carl Nassib, who revealed himself as gay on June 21, 2021, while with the Las Vegas Raiders. He became the first openly gay player to play in an NFL game on September 13, 2021. He later became the first openly gay player in an NFL playoff game on January 15, 2022. Six former NFL players have come out publicly after they retired. In the 2014 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams drafted Michael Sam in the seventh round, the 249th of 256 players selected, which made him the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL. However, on August 30, St. Louis released Sam as part of a final round of cuts to reduce their roster to the league-mandated 53 players before the start of the regular season.

Alan Scott Gendreau is an American former college football player for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. The placekicker was openly gay to his teammates. He ended his college career as the leading scorer in Sun Belt Conference history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Sam</span> American football coach and former player (born 1990)

Michael Alan Sam Jr. is an American former professional football defensive lineman who is a coach for the Panthers Wrocław in the European League of Football (ELF). Sam played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was selected by the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL) in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played one game for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Russell (American football)</span> American football player (born 1992)

Ryan K Russell is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at Purdue University.

Although gay athletes and coaches are increasingly accepted in college sports, they continue to be controversial among some people.

Dalton Maldonado is an American high school basketball player and LGBT rights activist who came to National prominence when he shared his harrowing tale of intimidation when he came out at a high school basketball game in Kentucky.

Sean Michael Gunn is a Zimbabwean swimmer. He competed in the men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Edward "Chip" Sarafin is a former American football offensive lineman from Gilbert, Arizona. In 2014, he became the first openly gay active NCAA Division I player when he came out as gay.

Scott A. Frantz is an American former college football player who was an offensive tackle for the Kansas State Wildcats. He earned second-team all-conference honors in the Big 12 as a senior in 2019.

My-King Johnson is an American football defensive end.

National Gay Flag Football League (NGFFL) is a nonprofit LGBT flag football league, currently comprising 200 teams in 22 leagues in the United States and Canada.

References

  1. Elman, Jake (January 15, 2021). "Ex-Patriots Offensive Lineman Ryan O'Callaghan Intended to End His Life After His NFL Career". Sportscasting | Pure Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  2. "2006 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  3. "Behind the Scenes with T Ryan O'Callaghan". www.patriots.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  4. "Ryan O'Callaghan Stats Summary". NFL.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  5. "Q & A with OT Ryan O'Callaghan". www.patriots.com. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  6. "NFL Football Transactions - National Football League - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  7. "Ryan O'Callaghan - Football Coach". California Golden Bears Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  8. Induction Ceremony Events & Information Archived 2018-06-30 at the Wayback Machine , Shasta County Sports Hall Of Fame website
  9. Hanson, Ethan. "Ryan O'Callaghan is comfortable in his own skin. And he doesn't want to talk football". Record Searchlight. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  10. "Ryan O'Callaghan, former New England Patriots lineman, comes out as gay". The Guardian. June 20, 2017. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  11. "How Ex-NFL Star Ryan O'Callaghan Found the Courage to Come Out". www.advocate.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  12. Zeigler, Cyd (June 20, 2017). "Former Patriots and Chiefs tackle Ryan O'Callaghan comes out as gay". Outsports.
  13. Peter, Josh (August 10, 2017). "'Life's great now' for Ryan O'Callaghan, the ex-NFL player who came out as gay". USA Today.
  14. "How Ryan O'Callaghan's story of being gay in the NFL is helping to smash stereotypes". Sky Sports. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  15. O'Callaghan, Ryan (2019). My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life. Akashic Books. ISBN   978-1-61775-758-7.
  16. O'Callaghan, Ryan (2019). My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life. Akashic Books. ISBN   978-1-61775-759-4.
  17. "How Ex-NFL Star Ryan O'Callaghan Found the Courage to Come Out". www.advocate.com. February 1, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  18. Silverman, Robert (September 13, 2021). "The Ex-NFL Player Pushing for LGBTQ Acceptance in America's Toughest Sport". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 24, 2023.