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Out of Bounds: Coming out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet

Out of Bounds: Coming out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet
By Roy Simmons, Damon DiMarco

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Product Description

When New York Giants coach Ray Perkins stated, "Roy Simmons just might be the best athlete on this football team," no one could have guessed that in just four years, Simmons would earn his living as a baggage handler at Kennedy Airport. The second NFL player ever to come out as gay and the first ever to come out as HIV-positive, Simmons was an up-and-coming star who quit football after just four years rather than be exposed as gay. Out of Bounds tells his story — from his rape at age 10 to being plucked from his poor Southern background to join the NFL, from his first taste of pro football fame and sudden enormous wealth to his fast-paced, no holds barred nightlife of heavy drugs and countless sexual encounters with women and men. Simmons roller-coaster life peaked in the late 1980s with his appearance in the Superbowl. Ultimately, reckless living left him penniless, friendless, and on the brink of suicide. Finally in 1992, he tapped the courage to come out as gay on national TV, and as HIV-positive 10 years later — an act which set him on the path towards sobriety and self-acceptance.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #648664 in Books
  • Published on: 2006-12-06
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 256 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In 1992, on the Phil Donahue show, former NFL offensive lineman Roy Simmons let the world in on his secret: Simmons, a seven-year veteran of the NFL who had traded the gridiron for a crackpipe, was gay. Only the second NFL player to admit he was gay (a third, Esera Tuaolo, has since made the announcement), Simmons's confession shocked the sports world. But it is what led up to that show that proves even more shocking. In this gritty, unflinching memoir, Simmons recounts how keeping his sexuality tucked tightly under his football pads steered him into a clandestine life filled with sex, drugs, sex, lies and sex. Unlike recently celebrated and bestselling rehab memoirs, Simmons's story has no happy ending. Nor is there a happy beginning or happy middle. And be forewarned: Simmons pulls no punches in speaking directly (read: profanely) about his experiences-the sex is explicit and the drugs are rampant. Simmons has since become the only former NFL player to disclose that he is HIV positive, but his illness has done little to derail his self-destructive lifestyle. Even now, 13 years after that televised confession, he seems strangely proud of his exploits. This memoir may not be a must-own for the casual-or even avid-football fan, but it should be required reading for every nascent professional athlete-as a manual of what not to do.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Roy Simmons is only one of three former NFL players to publicly disclose his homosexuality. An offensive lineman with the New York Giants and Washington Redskins from 1979-84, he came out as gay on television in 1992. Simmons works as a supervisor in a Long Island drug halfway house.

Damon DiMarco is the author of Tower Stories: The Autobiography of September 11, 2001. He’s currently on the faculty of Drew University and lives in New York.

Customer Reviews

Crazy Life Makes Great Book!!5
Roy Simmon's has lived one crazy life and he shares it with us in his great book Out of Bounds. It starts with the story of his childhood in poor Savanah and his rape at the hands of a neighbor, his realization of his homosexuality, right through his awesome career as a football player and his fight with drugs. It is one rollercoaster ride that you shouldn't miss. Gay or straight, jock or not, this is one great book. Lets just hope that other gay athletes start to step forward and tell their stories because only the truth will set us free.

THE GOOD ,THE BAD AND THE UGLY3
I FOUND ROY SIMMONS BOOK TO BE A GREAT PAGE TURNER,ROY DESCRIBED
HIS OUT OF CONTROL LIFE IN VIVID DETAIL. I FOUND MYSELF HATING THAT THE BOOK WAS GETTING TO THE END. I WAS LEFT FEELING FOR ALL THOSE THAT WERE MENTIONED. HIS DAUGHTER AND HER MOTHER ALONG WITH HIS RIDE OR DIE BEST GIRLFRIEND. THE BOOK DOES HAVE SOME BAD AND UGLY MOMENTS BUT YOU CAN STILL FEEL THE GOOD.

Great Read4
This is a great read! Not only do you the opportunity to have a front row view into the mind of a drug addict and bisexual, you learn to empathize with homosexuals and their struggle to be accepted. This book proves that individuals usually never fully heal from their childhood experiences, especially when abuse was involved. There are many moments I had to put the book down for the semi graphic sexual acts, but it was entertaining none the less. Roy Simmons had one hell of a life and I'm glad he shared his story!