- Esera Tuaolo
NFL player
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1968|7|11
Birthplace=flagicon|USAHonolulu, HI
Position=Defensive tackle
College=Oregon State
DraftedYear=1991
DraftedRound=2 / Pick 35
CBS=4412
ESPN=1759
DatabaseFootball=TUAOLESE01
years=1991-1992
1992-1996
1997
1998
1999
teams=Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings Jacksonville Jaguars Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers
ProBowls=Esera Tavai Tuaolo (IPAEng|ɛsɛrɑ tuɑloʊ) (born
July 11 ,1968 in Honolulu,Hawaii ) is a former professionalAmerican football defensive lineman in theNational Football League for nine years, including participation in theSuper Bowl .Early life
He is of
Samoan ancestry, and was raised in poverty in a banana farming family. His father died when Esera was ten years of age.Football career
He played
college football atOregon State University and was a member of thePi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was selected in the1991 NFL Draft . Nicknamed "Mr. Aloha", Tuaolo playednose tackle for several teams in his career, reaching the Super Bowl in 1998 while playing with theAtlanta Falcons . He also played for theCarolina Panthers ,Jacksonville Jaguars ,Minnesota Vikings andGreen Bay Packers during his career.Personal life
In 2002, having retired from sports, he announced to the public that he is gay, coming out on
HBO 's "Real Sports."citation |last=Buzinski |first=Jim |title=Sports: Gay Male |url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/sports_gay,4.html |periodical=glbtq.com |year=2002 |accessdate=2007-08-19 ] This made him the third formerNFL player to come out, afterDavid Kopay andRoy Simmons . He has since worked with the NFL to attempt to combathomophobia in the league and is a board member of theGay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation .In 2006, Tuaolo sang the national anthem at the opening ceremony of the
Gay Games , aquadrennial Olympics-style event. During his career with the Packers, Tuaolo once sang the anthem before a game against the Chicago Bears. Kopay administered the official's oath during the opening ceremony. Also that year, he testified at the State Legislature Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in opposition to an anti-gay-marriage bill.citation |url=http://dflers.org/story/2006/4/5/112621/0387 |title=We are all children of God |first=David |last=Ruth |date=2006-04-05 |accessdate=2007-08-19 |periodical=DFLers.org]
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