The 1993 Houston Oilers had at least two gay players, former teammates say

Yahoo Sports ^ | 12/27/13 | Frank Schwab

[Oliviaforever]

The topic of whether a gay player would be accepted in a NFL locker room is probably overblown. Players like teammates who can help them win. The rest is trivial.

This is shown by the 1993 Houston Oilers. The Houston Chronicle ran a tremendous oral history on that wild season and team (it's excellent, check it out, as was the NFL Network's "A Football Life" episode on the '93 Oilers), and in it there's a revelation that the Oilers had at least two gay players.

[forgotten man]

Well, the Cowboys had Troy Aikman.

[a fool in paradise]

The 93 Oilers sucked???

[kcvl]

Among the storylines discussed during Houston ’93: A Football Life are:

The 1992 AFC Wild Card Game in which the Oilers lost to the Buffalo Bills after leading 35-3 in the fourth quarter

The tension that existed between defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, and Ryan’s attempt to punch Gilbride on the sidelines during the season finale against the New York Jets
Quarterback Warren Moon’s benching after a 1-4 start to the season
Offensive lineman’s David Williams decision to miss a game and stay at home for the birth of his son, and the ensuing controversy that surrounded it

The loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1993 AFC Divisional Round at home

Houston ‘93: A Football Life includes interviews with the following people:
Warren Moon – Oilers quarterback
Mike Munchak – Oilers offensive lineman
Buddy Ryan – Oilers defensive coordinator
Cris Dishman – Oilers defensive back
Haywood Jeffires – Oilers wide receiver
Cody Carlson – Oilers quarterback
Steve Underwood – Oilers Vice President
William Fuller – Oilers defensive lineman
Doug Dawson – Oilers offensive lineman
Tom Franklin – Oilers radio broadcaster
Floyd Reese – Oilers Assistant General Manager
Kevin Gilbride – Oilers offensive coordinator
Bruce Matthews – Oilers/Titans offensive lineman
Gregg Williams – Oilers assistant coach
Spencer Tillman – Oilers running back
Bubba McDowell – Oilers defensive back
Ray Childress – Oilers defensive lineman
Ernest Givins – Oilers wide receiver
Sean Jones – Oilers defensive end
Brad Hopkins – Oilers/Titans offensive lineman
Ronnie Jones – Oilers linebackers coach
John McClain – Houston Chronicle
Ray Buck – Houston Post

Provided below are some select quotes from Houston ‘93: A Football Life:

- “We’re right there with the best shot ever and we blow the biggest lead in NFL history. That is going to stay with you for a while.” – Cody Carlson on the loss to the Buffalo Bills in the 1992 AFC Wild Card Game

- “I certainly had heard of the difficulty in Chicago with Mike Ditka. Until you go through the actual experience of it I don’t think you have any idea how bad it really is.” – Kevin Gilbride on Buddy Ryan

- “That was our primary purpose: to go out there and beat Buddy [Ryan] up every day because of the way he treated us.” – Haywood Jeffires

- “When you look up ‘team’ in the dictionary and all of the positive characteristics and qualities about ‘team,’ we had none of those.” – Bruce Matthews

http://nflcommunications.com/2013/12/05/the-1993-houston-oilers-chronicled-on-nfl-networks-a-football-life-tuesday-december-10-at-900-pm-et/

[cld51860]

Eh, big deal...

[a fool in paradise]

The rumor at the time in this 1993 story is that one of these guys was giving oral to the other at the time of the car crash “maiming” one and killing the other. The survivor committed suicide at the scene.

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/15/sports/pro-football-a-friend-dies-and-oiler-kills-himself.html

Minutes after crashing his car on a freeway exit ramp and watching as his best friend was thrown to his death early today, Houston Oilers defensive tackle Jeff Alm took a shotgun from the car and killed himself, apparently in a fit of guilt or despair, the police said.

[cld51860]

Yes, let us check with Dick Butkus and Jack Ham and see what they think of what has happened to the NFL since they left...

[a fool in paradise]

They don’t show the cheerleaders on tv anymore either.

Pink ribbons are fine though.

[dhs12345]

Lol.

[kcvl]

One of those teammates was Ernest Givens, a star receiver with the Oilers in the mid-1990s and the subject of rumors back then even before the Internet took off. Givens addressed the issue with ESPN in 1998 and denied he was gay.

I’m not gay, but there’s a rumor that’s out there, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.

Givens said he was called “Ernestine” and accused by others of hitting on younger receivers. In the ESPN interview, he sounds like he had a fairly miserable experience with the Oilers over the issue.

http://www.outsports.com/2011/5/31/4051358/hall-of-fame-quarterback-warren-moon-says-he-played-with-gay-teammates

[Bronzewound]

I have a book about the Baltimore Colts in the Johnny Unitas era. One of my favorite stories describes a game against the Chicago Bears. Unitas had been beaten up pretty good during the course of the game. Finally he got his nose busted and broken. His nose and lip were bleeding. John took some dirt from the field and shoved into his nose to stop the bleeding.

In the huddle, a player told him he shouldn't be in the game. John asked, "Why not?" "Your face John; look at your face," replied the other player. Unitas' promptly told him, "I don't throw the ball with my face." He then proceeded to throw a 47 yard touchdown pass on the next play.

Ahh, the good old days.

.

[Viennacon]

Another day, another gay story.

[henkster]

Two gay players in 1993. And this matters...why????

[Rummyfan]

All I remember about those Oiler teams of the early nineties was they scored a heckuva lot of points with the run-and-shoot but never advanced in the playoffs.

[skinndogNN]

Did they SUCK ?

[Oliviaforever]

“All I remember about those Oiler teams of the early nineties was they scored a heckuva lot of points with the run-and-shoot but never advanced in the playoffs.”

They were fun to watch, but it is hard to control the ball and the clock with the run and shoot.

As a wise man one said. “Only three things can happen when you pass and two of ‘em are bad.”

[Rummyfan]

Love Unitas stories - thanks for that one!

[1rudeboy]

What I want to know is the 1946 Red Sox. They totally folded that year in the World Series against the Cardinals. Can somebody comb through that lineup, identify the responsible homosexuals involved in blowing that series, and get back to us?

What about the Cubs?

[dfwgator]

Wonder if one of them was this guy....I remember hearing some rumors back then as to what really happened.

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/15/sports/pro-football-a-friend-dies-and-oiler-kills-himself.html

[KMG365]

Have cousins in Houston. I remember during that time there were rumors about an incident where an Oilers player was involved in an auto accident where his teammate was killed. That player then shot himself in the head right there at the scene.

The rumors where that the first player was driving while his teammate had his head in his lap. He crashed on a highway overpass, and the player with his head down was thrown from the car, and landed 40 feet below. The driver had his penis bitten off by the guy that was thrown from the car, that is why he shot himself in the head at the scene.

[dfwgator]

Yep, I just referenced that story as well. when I saw the headline, this was precisely the first thing that came to mind.