Question: How many seasons did the player who came out while playing as tight end play in the NFL ?

text: Homosexuality in American football
Players coming out
Selected by the St. Louis Rams in 2014 , Michael Sam was the first publicly gay player to be drafted into the NFL . Division II college football player Brian Sims came out as gay to his team in 2000 while playing for Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania , [ 33 ] and publicly told his story in 2009 . [ 34 ] Alan Gendreau was openly gay to his Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team from 2008 through 2011 , but they made no mention of it to the media . [ 35 ] Otherwise , he could have been the first publicly out gay active player in Division I college football . [ 36 ] Outsports , a Web site specializing in lesbian , gay , and bisexual people in sports , released his story about being a gay football player on April 23 , 2013 . [ 35 ] [ 36 ] In January 2014 , Conner Mertens of the Division III Willamette Bearcats publicly came out as bisexual , becoming the first active college football player at any level to publicly come out as bisexual . [ 37 ] [ 38 ] After he retired , NFL player David Kopay in 1975 was the first major professional team-sport athlete to come out as gay . [ 39 ] [ 40 ] Many experts believe that the first openly gay active NFL player will not be a current athlete who comes out , but instead an already out high school or college player who ends up in the NFL . [ 1 ] [ 36 ] CBSSports.com reported in April 2013 that one NFL team had a player that was not openly gay , but his teammates were aware that he was gay and did not care . [ 41 ] That same month , Ayanbadejo said there were up to four NFL players who were considering coming out as gay on the same day with the hope that any backlash would be shared and the pressure on one person reduced . [ 42 ] NFL commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized that sexual orientation discrimination was unacceptable in the NFL . His statement came after players said they were asked during the NFL Scouting Combine if they liked girls . [ 43 ] In November 2018 , former player Jeff Rohrer became the first known current or former NFL player to be in a same-sex marriage . [ 44 ] In February 2014 , Sam publicly came out as gay after his college career had ended , and became the first publicly gay player drafted in the NFL when he was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 draft . [ 38 ] [ 45 ] Six months later , Chip Sarafin came out as gay , becoming the first active Division I player to come out as gay . [ 46 ] The following season another Division I offensive lineman , Mason Darrow of Princeton , also came out as gay publicly . [ 47 ] In August 2015 , Sam became the first publicly gay player to play in a Canadian Football League ( CFL ) regular season game . [ 48 ] In 2017 , Scott Frantz publicly came out as gay , joining My-King Johnson as two of the first openly gay players in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision . [ 3 ] Later that same year , Frantz became the first openly gay college football player to play in a game for a NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision school . [ 4 ] In 2018 , Bradley Kim of the Air Force Academy came out as gay , thus becoming the first openly gay football player to play for any military academy in the United States ; open homosexuality was forbidden in the U.S. Armed Forces until 2012 . [ 5 ]
There has never been anyone who has been publicly out as gay or bisexual while playing in the National Football League (NFL). Six former NFL players have come out publicly as gay after they retired. Michael Sam was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the 2014 NFL Draft, and thus became the first publicly gay player drafted in the league, but was released before the start of the regular season. He became the first publicly gay player to play in the Canadian Football League in August 2015. In college football, Division III player Conner Mertens came out as bisexual in January 2014, becoming the first active college football player at any level to publicly come out as bisexual. In August 2014, Arizona State player Chip Sarafin became the first publicly out active Division I player when he came out as gay. In 2017, Scott Frantz publicly came out as gay, joining My-King Johnson as two of the first openly gay players in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Later that same year, Frantz became the first openly gay college football player to play in a game for a NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision school. In 2018, Bradley Kim of the Air Force Academy came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay football player to play for any military academy in the United States; open homosexuality was forbidden in the U.S. Armed Forces until 2012. In August 2019, Ryan O'Callaghan, who played 2006-2011 for the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots, said, I think its safe to say theres at least one on every team who is either gay or bisexual. A lot of guys still see it as potentially having a negative impact on their career.
Name Highest level Position
Mason Darrow NCAA Division I Offensive lineman
Wade Davis NFL Cornerback
Scott Frantz NCAA Division I Offensive Tackle
Ed Gallagher NCAA Division I Offensive tackle
Alan Gendreau NCAA Division I Placekicker
Kwame Harris NFL Offensive tackle
Bradley Kim NCAA Division I Defensive back
David Kopay NFL Running back
Ray McDonald NFL Running back
Conner Mertens NCAA Division III Placekicker
Ryan O'Callaghan NFL Offensive Lineman
Jeff Rohrer NFL Linebacker
Michael Sam NFL / CFL Defensive end
Chip Sarafin NCAA Division I Offensive lineman
Roy Simmons NFL Guard
Brian Sims NCAA Division II Defensive tackle
Jerry Smith * NFL Tight end
Brad Thorson NFL Offensive lineman
Esera Tuaolo NFL Defensive tackle
Jacob Van Ittersum NCAA Division II Offensive Lineman