Roy Franklin Simmons is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player who played for the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He played offensive lineman for the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and then with the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 during Super Bowl XVIII

Super Bowl XVIII

Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, deciding the National Football League champion following the 1983 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Los Angeles Raiders defeated the National Football Conference...

 in 1984. In 1992, he came out of the closet

Coming out

Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

 as gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 on the Phil Donahue Show. In his autobiography, Out of Bounds (written with Damon DiMarco

Damon DiMarco

Damon DiMarco , is a New York City author, actor, and historian. His oral history work has been compared to that of Studs Terkel...

), he speaks of drug addiction

Substance dependence

The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...

, prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

, and promiscuity

Promiscuity

In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...

. Around 1997, he learned that he was HIV-positive.

Only two other members of the NFL have ever revealed their homosexuality: David Kopay

David Kopay

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

 and Esera Tuaolo

Esera Tuaolo

Esera Tavai Tuaolo is a retired American professional football player. He was a defensive lineman in the NFL for nine years.-Early life:...

.