His Decision SHOOK The NFL | First Openly Bisexual NFL Player R.K. Russel | Ep 22

His decision didn’t just ripple, it detonated. In Episode 22 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, we sit down with R.K. Russell, the NFL player who, in a moment of courage and clarity, became one of the first active players to publicly identify as bisexual. What follows is equal parts locker-room confession, cultural reckoning, and hard-won tenderness: a story about leaving silence behind, about masculinity and vulnerability on the field, and about what it means to be bisexual in the NFL while still loving the game.R.K. brings the kind of candor that rewrites the playbook. He talks about the pressure cooker of professional sport, the complicated dance between team loyalty and personal truth, and why he believes representation matters for LGBTQ athletes who are still figuring out how to balance identity with ambition. This is essential listening for anyone searching “bisexual NFL player interview,” “coming out in pro sports,” or “what it’s like being queer in the NFL.”There’s a symmetry here we can’t ignore: rugby and football are cousins - collision sports that prize toughness, camaraderie, and ritual. On our show (born from the Los Angeles Rebellion Rugby community) we explore that overlap: how locker room culture shapes men, how inclusive sports can heal, and why queer players in both codes wrestle with similar stakes. If you care about inclusive rugby stories, bisexual athlete stories, or the future of LGBTQ representation in pro sports, turn this up.R.K. Russell tells his full story in his powerful memoir The Yards Between Us: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Football. It’s more than a sports book — it’s about identity, family, love, and what it costs to live authentically on the biggest stage in American sports. If you want to go deeper into his journey as the first openly bisexual NFL player, you can pick up The Yards Between Us wherever books are sold, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores.In this conversation you’ll hear R.K. Russell on mental health, activism, and the moment he decided to be public, plus practical messages for young athletes: how to come out as an athlete, how to navigate team dynamics, and how to find allies in sport. Subscribe to The Gay Rugby Podcast for more interviews that sit at the intersection of sport, identity, and community.