| Professional running back David Kopay came out of the closet at the end of 1975. His announcement that he was gay and his suggestion that there were a good number of other gay players in professional football caused quite a stir at the time. He was reviled by some and applauded by others. In this book, he and his co-author, Perry Young, try to explain why he made that choice and how it changed his life.
They begin with his childhood. He was born in Chicago and raised in a Catholic family. He describes his parents as sexually repressed and suggests that their problems had an effect on the rest of the family. As early as college, the University of Washington, he was attracted to men, but didn't know how to act on that attraction except in kind of drunken brawling. As a professional he played for ten years for a number of teams. Towards the end of his career, he feels that many of the other team members were aware of his sexual orientation. Still he felt the need to make it public, and to crusade for honesty about sexuality. | ||
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Plot & Themes Taboo Sex Story? Yes Sports story? - football Kind of sex: - gay guy Sports story Yes Period of greatest activity? - 1950+ Subject of Biography Gender - Male Profession/status: Ethnicity - White Nationality - American Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 () United States Yes The US: - Northeast - Midwest - Pacific NW Century: - 1960's-1970's Writing Style Book makes you feel? - encouraged If this is a kid's book: - Age 16-Adult Pictures/Illustrations? - A lot 11-15 B&W How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 26-50% of book |
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