In the second part of a two-part
Necessary Roughness season finale, New York Hawks star
quarterback Rex Evans comes out gay to his teammates and fans.
Travis Smith's character began soul
searching in last week's episode. On the season's final episode to
be broadcast Wednesday, producers say he'll complete his journey.
Speaking with male gay entertainment
website AfterElton.com,
Smith said he modeled his character after old southern guys he knew
who were gay.
“Growing up in the South, I kind of
knew these guys,” Smith said. “I mean, I had a couple of friends
that were tough. You know, old southern boys. They enjoyed their
guns. They enjoyed their bikes. They enjoyed playing sports, and
they were gay and they had to hide that from most of the people we
grew up around. So I knew those guys. I mean, these guys to me,
they existed. So for me it was just a matter of coming in and trying
to stay true to those friends of mine that I grew up with who were
very much like Rex. I mean, great athletes, good old boys who
happened to be gay. It was pretty easy to step into it, and the
writing was phenomenal so it made it much easier.”
A clip from Wednesday's episode is
embedded on this page.