FORMER NFL PLAYER Wade Davis has opened up about dealing with being homosexual in the macho environment of the NFL in an interview with SB Nation.

Like many gay athletes, the one-time Tennessee Titans cornerback, now retired, felt unable to come out due to the pressures of fitting in with his team-mates but finally decided to open up about his sexuality last year.

“I think subconsciously, I understood that being gay, the way I was raised, was wrong, and there was no way that my family, at least in my mind, would accept me,” Davis told Amy Nelson. “And also that my football family would not accept me just because of the perception of being gay meant that you’re less masculine.”

“You just want to be one of the guys, and you don’t want to lose that sense of family. Your biggest fear is that you’ll lose that camaraderie and family.”

The 34-year-old went on to talk about the work he now does at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which aids LGBT youths in New York.

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