Two key members of the 1993 Houston
Oilers team were gay and accepted by fellow teammates, former
teammates told the Houston Chronicle.
“Listen, those guys that we're
talking about were unbelievable teammates,” said Pro Bowl
linebacker Lamar Lathon. “And if you wanted to go to war with
someone, you would get those guys first. Because I have never seen
tougher guys than those guys. And everybody in the locker room, the
consensus knew or had an idea that things were not exactly right.
But guess what? When they strapped the pads on and got on the field,
man, we were going to war with these guys because they were
unbelievable.”
The 1993 Houston Oilers season is
considered one of the most turbulent in NFL history. After a poor
start the team rallied back with an 11-game winning streak.
“Everybody knew certain guys [were
gay],” Bubba
McDowell said. “Everybody speculated and people used to see
these two guys come in by themselves. They'd leave at lunchtime and
then come back.”
McDowell added that showering with the
gay players in the locker room was “no big deal.”