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Out of Bounds: Coming Out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet
The second NFL player ever to come out as gay and the first ever to come out as HIV-positive, Roy Simmons was an up-and-coming star offensive lineman who quit football after just four years rather than be exposed as gay. Out of Bounds tells his compelling story-from his rape at age 10 to being plucked from his poor Southern background to join the NFL, from his first taste of pro football fame and sudden enormous wealth to his fast-paced, no holds barred nightlife of heavy drugs and countless sexual encounters with women and men. Simmons led a roller-coaster life that peaked in the late 1980s with his playing in the Superbowl. Ultimately, however, reckless living left him penniless, friendless, and on the brink of suicide. Finally in 1992, Simmons tapped the courage to come out as gay on national TV—then coming out as HIV-positive 10 years later—leading him to a healthy path of sobriety and self-acceptance.
260 pages, Hardcover
First published January 2, 2005
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 5, 2015
In the interest of full disclosure, I did not finish this book. I didn't even get halfway through.
The story he tells begins at the end, when he sells his and his roommate's furniture--all of it, sofas to stereos--for a couple hits of crack. Then Simmons returns to his childhood. He was raising primarily by his grandmother in a poor area of Savannah in the '50s and early '60s. At an early age, he was raped by a neighbor. This seems to be where he thinks his downward spiral really began. Who knows.
All I know is that after 120 pages of being told, in graphic detail, about lots of different kinds of sex, with men and with women, I just couldn't read further. The only people who won't find this book repellent in the extreme are people who like their stories told in excruciating detail using lots of four-letter words.
I feel for the guy, but he could have used an editor to move his story along coherently.
The story he tells begins at the end, when he sells his and his roommate's furniture--all of it, sofas to stereos--for a couple hits of crack. Then Simmons returns to his childhood. He was raising primarily by his grandmother in a poor area of Savannah in the '50s and early '60s. At an early age, he was raped by a neighbor. This seems to be where he thinks his downward spiral really began. Who knows.
All I know is that after 120 pages of being told, in graphic detail, about lots of different kinds of sex, with men and with women, I just couldn't read further. The only people who won't find this book repellent in the extreme are people who like their stories told in excruciating detail using lots of four-letter words.
I feel for the guy, but he could have used an editor to move his story along coherently.
May 21, 2011
"When New York Giants coach Ray Perkins stated, "Roy Simmons just might be the best athlete on this football team," no one could have guessed that in just four years, Simmons would earn his living as a baggage handler at Kennedy Airport" a powerful intro to an incredibably touching and well written story by Mr Simmons and his his brilliant co-writer Damon DiMarco(My Two Chinas: The Memoir of a Chinese Counter-Revolutionary by Tang Baiqiao, Damon DiMarco-another winner!!!) When one compares Out of Bounds with the many other celebrity "bios" it is immediately apparent that is is not simply a notch above- it it puts the vast majority of other autobiographies to shame, with its blunt honesty and superb prose. This is no "soap opera star story"- rather it is an intense, facinating look into the world of an individual who led a life full of unforgetable experiences and internal emotional devastation- and was able to not only survive- but thrive. Mr. Simmons and Damon DiMarco have crafted a story too intense and heart-touching to be fiction.
AN OFFICIAL JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ
Rick Friedman
Founder
THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
AN OFFICIAL JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ
Rick Friedman
Founder
THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
June 23, 2011
To me the criteria in what makes a great memoir is if you feel like you truly get to know the subject on a personal level. In Out of Bounds this criteria is met tenfold. Roy Simmons literally opens his heart and allows us into a life of horror, glory, disappointment and hope. You simply cannot put this book down once you begin reading it. The writing style (with props to co-writer Damon DiMarco) is so fluid and in Roy's words that it truly does feel as if you are having a conversation with Roy when you read this book. As for what is covered in the book, you get the story of Roy's incredible life and the many layers that ultimately led him to the depth of hell. Each event is told with such brutal honesty and without looking to make excuses that you really are riveted and shocked. This is so much more than just a book about one coming to grips with his sexuality. Roy's story is much more complex as one horrifying experience at age 11 makes clear. I recommend this book to anyone looking to read a memoir that will stay with you for a long time.
April 19, 2012
what the hell? why did I READ this?? I know nothing about football, especially that far back, I don't understand this person's behavior at all.... a baffling autobiography with more gory details than evern want to see again!!!
November 23, 2008
Autobiography from Simmons. Telling how he ruined
his football career, because of drugs and sexual
indiscretions, and how he persevered.
his football career, because of drugs and sexual
indiscretions, and how he persevered.
May 17, 2014
Brutally honest book about a pro athlete's battles with drink and drug addiction and his sexuality.
July 27, 2007
This book was deep and disturbing for so many reasons but a good read non-the-less.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews