Out former Packers player to speak on campus

Former professional football player Esera Tuaolo, a member of the Green Bay Packers from 1991-92, will speak on campus about his experience as a closeted gay man in the hyper-masculine world of the NFL as keynote speaker for Finding Common Ground: National Coming Out Week 2008.

Having retired in 1999, Tuaolo announced publicly that he is gay during a 2002 appearance on the HBO show “Real Sports.” Since that time he has worked with the NFL against homophobia in the league, and he is a member of the board of the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation.

Among other things, Tuaolo is expected to tell about the surprisingly warm reception the Wisconsin public has given him since his announcement

“The reaction from the public when I came out for first time was surprisingly supportive,” Tuaolo said during a television interview. “There were even a handful of athletes that I played with at Oregon State that called me to show support.”

Although the public showered Tuaolo with praise after he came out, the personal battle he faced while still in the closet was much more difficult. After nine years excelling as an NFL defensive lineman for five different teams and making it to the Super Bowl, Tuaolo published his personal account of closeted life on the field and in the locker rooms in the book “Alone in the Trenches,” where he details the struggles of LGBT people on athletic teams.

The appearance, sponsored by the LGBT Campus Center, will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, in Memorial Union’s Great Hall.

For more information, contact Cory Schultz at 886-0479 or c.schultz88@gmail.com.