The David Kopay Story

by David Kopay, Perry Deane Young

Twenty-three years after publishing his story, David Kopay remains the only NFL player who has publicly acknowledged his homosexuality. From psychotherapy to hypnosis to heartbreaking family confrontations to finally surprising acceptance from former teammates and coaches, this is a story of denial leading to acceptance, and finally to pride. As inspiring today as it was upon publication, Advocate Books is proud to make The David Kopay Story available to a new generation of readers.

David Kopay has been involved in a variety of business ventures since his decision to leave professional football. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, LGBT, History, Gay, Memoir

256 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1977

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Kopay is a former American football player who spent nine years in the National Football League. He publicly came out to the public in the Washington Star when they did a series on homosexuality in the NFL in 1975. This book was written two years after the event in 1977.

Kopay describes the struggles that he had with hiding his sexuality with his team mates, family and friends. He also talks about his challenges trying to find a coaching position in the NFL and he disclosed his homosexuality. This book is full of inspiration, saddness and laughter. It was on the New York Times Best Seller List back in 1977.

[Ray Quirolgico · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this book in one of those neighborhood tiny libraries - a free book exchange for readers. I knew about David Kopay’s place in LGBTQ history and thought I should read this co-authored work that is part biography and part autobiographical memoir. The pace and structure were uneven at times, but the whole book worked in a fairly straightforward chronological timeline. And to read this story, first published in 1977, now was an experience full of lessons about how the world has changed and maybe about how much more work we can all do, for the better.

[Rodney Rauch · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's a hero and a personal friend. A sensitive and kind man. His story is uplifting.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about a man's journey on finding himself and his self acceptance of his homosexuality. I think it was very courageous of what he did, it took a lot of courage for him to "come out". Although it was sad the way his parents, brother and aunts treated him after he "came out" they just completely shun him and talked bad about him about his gayness. It was a good thing that he had such good friends that supported him though his family's rejection of his gayness. I praise Kopay for what he did because he was the first athlete that had ever "come out" publicly and he had changed the face of Homosexuality, people saw and read about him being gay and seeing that he was a football player and thought "If he's gay and say it out loud, why can't I?". He is possibly the one that change the course of TV as we know it today and let shows like "Queer as Folk" and "1 girl, 5 guys" be okay to be on TV (I love those shows).

I agree with Kopay and some others in this book about how people's sexual preferences is a private matter and it shouldn't effect someone's job or rather they get a specific job or not. In a way he made me understand gays better and made me realize that gays are everywhere even in sports. I don't have a problem with gays, matter of fact I love gay people they are awesome and they seem to be funnier then straight people, I love people that can make me laugh and they sure do. I support gays and their rights completely, I don't see anything wrong with gays being together, if they love each other then just let them be.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kopay's book, which made a significant impact at the time of its publication, has not aged particularly well. The narrative lacks the bite of Meggyesy's Out of Their League and the color of Bouton's Ball Four, the attempts at advocacy are somewhat ham-handed (at one point, he and his collaborator Perry Deane Young republish letters from Kopay's supporters), and the last section of the book--some sort of road trip to redemption--is an absolute mess. The inconsistent voice, with chapters "told by" either Kopay or co-author Young, is a tremendous distraction. Even stranger is the fact that Kopay's "extraordinary self-revelation" (to quote from the cover) leads not to some sort of semi-monogamous relationship--indeed the co-author, who practices casual sex because it's the modern thing to do--but a series of soulless hook-ups, including various threesomes (Kopay refuses to rule out eventually marrying a woman and fathering children, in spite of the fact that his first marriage had failed because of his sexual orientation). In short, there are about fifty pages of great material here, which is a shame because this book could have been so much better.

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This certainly would have had more impact on me had I read it when it was first published. 35 years later, it loses a bit of its punch. I wish I had read it then. It would have meant a great deal to a 15 year old gay boy. Still, this is an interesting story well told.

[Wendell Hennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Kopay's life story largely about coming to terms with his sexuality and then writing this book with Perry Young to retrace his steps and tell the world.