Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jeff Rohrer is believed to be the first former NFL player to enter into a same-sex marriage, announcing his engagement to partner Joshua Ross in a profile with The New York Times.
“I’ve given at least five people heart attacks with this news,” Rohrer, who came out as gay in 2015, admitted in the interview.
He added: “But for the most part, many of my closest friends, including some of my former teammates with the Cowboys, could not have been more happy and supportive.”
Rohrer, 59, played for the Dallas Cowboys between 1982 and 1989 and was previously married to a woman, with whom he has two teenage children.
“If I had told the Dallas Cowboys in the 1980s that I was gay, I would have been cut immediately,” he previously told OutSports.
“It was a different world back then, people didn’t want to hear that.”
Regarding his upcoming marriage to Ross, set to be held this weekend, Rohrer is aware that some of his former sporting fans might not handle the news as well as others.
“I’m sure there’s going to be some people out there who have a negative reaction to this,” he said, “and I’m fine with it.”
