13.02 / 17:58
Life
the queerty interview
Super Bowl
Star
Former NFL star Esera Tuaolo talks Super Bowl, Carl Nassib, and meeting his fiancé on Grindr
When Esera Tuaolo publicly came out as gay in 2002 after retiring from the NFL, he said he didn’t think there would ever be an out active NFL player.The league just wasn’t ready for it, and neither were the fans.Two decades later, the 6-foot-4, 300 pounds former defensive lineman is happy to say he’s been proven wrong when Carl Nassib came out in 2021.Tuaolo has stayed close to the game since retirement, hosting an annual Super Bowl party sponsored by his anti-bullying organization, Hate Is Wrong, and speaking to rookies about inclusion.While he remains connected to the NFL, his biggest areas of growth have occurred far away from the gridiron: singing on stage, manning the kitchen in Provincetown, falling in love with his fiancé.Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, we caught up with Tuaolo (a.k.a. “Mr.