- December 18, 1998 The brief history of gay athletes Also See World of the Gay Athlete: The last closet World of the Gay Athlete: NFL style World of the Gay Athlete: Gay hockey Speaking out on coming out A gay comedian's take on sports Chat wrap: Openly gay AD Mike Muska Chat wrap: Former NFL running back Dave Kopay Reaction to series, show Gay athletes and events in the 20th century are few: ...espn.go.com/otl/world/timeline.html