'Brokeback'—NFL Style

by Dermot McEvoy, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 3/17/2006

Editor's Note: In Monday's PW, we take a look at the market for sports books. Below is a piece on how titles by gay athletes are faring.

Gay professional athletes seemingly have always used books as a handy—not to mention at times lucrative—conduit to announce their homosexuality. Back in 1977 David Kopay became the first NFL player to say he was homosexual in Kopay. Diver Greg Louganis followed in 1995 with Breaking the Surface (just reissued by Sourcebooks in paperback) and major league umpire Dave Pallone told his story in 1990's Behind the Mask: My Double Life in Baseball. As recently as 2003 former major league baseball player Billy Bean—not to be confused with the Billy Beane of Moneyball fame—chronicled his lifestyle in Going the Other Way.

NFL football—easily the "he-man" sport of America—has had a steady history of players coming out of the closet, starting with Kopay. In the fall of 2003 New York Times writer Mike Freeman published Bloody Sundays, which contained a chapter entitled "Secret Society." In it Freeman claimed that "there is a secret society of some 100 to 200 gay and bisexual NFL players... there are at least several gay players on each team, maybe more." Surprising, although published in the middle of the NFL season, little was heard of Bloody Sundays or its explosive chapter in the media.

This prompted PW to inquire if there was, perhaps, a prejudice in the media against gay athletes and the books that contain their revelations. The reaction of publishers was surprising—and positive. "The media is always interested in what's new, what's trending and why an audience will care about the book or author," says Genene Murphy, publicist for Sourcebooks, which has just published Alone in the Trenches: My Life as a Gay Man in the NFL by former defensive lineman Esera Tuaolo. Todd Stocke, v-p/editorial director at Sourcebooks, reiterates Murphy's opinion: "These books do seem to be popular, but more critically to my mind is the fact that their biggest impacts on people are made not to huge groups, but one person at a time." Tuaolo has had no problem gaining exposure as he already has appeared on NPR, CNN, CNBC, ESPN and has had an excerpt of the book in People magazine.

Karen Auerbach, director of publicity for the Avalon Publishing Group, is a veteran in this area. When she handled Billy Bean's book three years ago she found that the media "embraced him. Diane Sawyer profiled him for Good Morning America, Out magazine did the first serial, and The Advocate put him back on their cover." Auerbach's project this spring has been Out of Bounds by former New York Giants offensive lineman Roy Simmons. Simmons, who is HIV positive, has also been well received by the media. "Roy Simmons has gotten some terrific media," says Auerbach, "including an appearance on ABC's The View, was featured by Mitch Albom in the Detroit News just before the Super Bowl, and has been a guest on Wendy Williams popular radio program. There's a lot of competition to get authors on network TV. A publicist is lucky to be pitching a gay athlete as we have many niche electronic outlets."

There is one extra, unexpected, component at work this spring—the popularity of a movie called Brokeback Mountain. Has it affected the appeal of books like Alone in the Trenches and Out of Bounds? "Absolutely," says Murphy. "The movie clearly demonstrates what it feels like to want a loving relationship, but have to risk everything to keep it."