Sports History? Gay Kicker Aims for NFL

Alan Gendreau of Middle Tennessee State hopes to make a roster
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 23, 2013 4:14 PM CDT
Updated Apr 23, 2013 4:21 PM CDT

Any NFL team looking to make a statement about homophobia in the league has a chance to do so in the form of Alan Gendreau. The former kicker at Middle Tennessee State is openly gay and hoping to make history as the league's first such player, he tells Outsports.com. Gendreau actually graduated last year, but he says he didn't try hard enough to get drafted by an NFL team. “Right now, looking back when I’m 40, I can’t say I gave it my best shot,” he says. "Last year I did it half-assed. If I don’t give it everything I have now, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

The devout Christian says he encountered zero hostility from his teammates in college after coming out in his freshman year. And he went on to have a stellar career, with his 295 points the most by any player in the Sun Belt Conference in more than a decade. Gendreau is considered a free agent because he wasn't drafted last year, and his best chance is to score an invitation to a tryout camp over the next several weeks. Click for more. (More NFL stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X