NFL’s RK Russell: 'I am a black bisexual man... That's what I've always been'

In 2019, in a very personal essay for ESPN, he made history as the first active NFL player to come out as

bisexual

, and as we begin our Pride Month celebration, former NFL defensive end r.k Russell is with us to talk about his new book. Yards Between Us and Memories of Life, Love and Football RK thank you very much for being here, how are you, thank you, thank you for allowing me to do so well, it's

been

four short years since that essay on ESPN. I can only imagine the whirlwind that followed, but now. here we are, you have written this book, I mean, you are speaking publicly about your experience as an ambassador of the lgbtq plus community, how are you feeling these days?

Oh my god, I feel great. Life has

been

wonderful and full for me. I think I've allowed genuine love and connection to come into my life by coming out and opening myself up to the world in that way and also seeing specifically men's sport grow and transform. Sports in the NFL have been a big part of it. of my mission and my goal, something that I continue to stand for is something that we have made progress on, so you know life is great. You were in your early 20s when you wrote that essay, but this was obviously something you had been struggling with internally. for quite some time you mentioned that you only knew one openly gay student at your high school in Creekview, you caught him standing there, staring into the distance, trying to breathe, hiding in plain sight,

what

the process was like for you going through your past.

And it was probably a lot of painful experiences to know where you ended up today. Yes, it was definitely one I would consider therapeutic. See your life in its entirety and analyze those moments. The lessons they taught you in difficulties. that you not only got through it but got over it and also seeing the bigger picture of how things that happen when you were young influenced the young person that you are and helps inform you about how to move forward,

what

you want for your own future and that of others. those around you, but the process, although challenging, is motivating and inspiring for me personally because I knew that I had been through everything I wrote and overcome it, so I wanted to share that message with everyone as well. young reader, every sports fan, every lgbtq plus person and I hope to do that through that book, what was the reaction of your fellow athletes in the sports community after you came out?

It was a great celebration. Anyone who knew me personally knew the difficulties I had. What I went through as a human being as a

black

man in the United States as a football player and knowing that I also carried with me the burden of secrecy or shame, the stigma, the stereotype, the homophobia that I had gone through, all of that didn't give me anything either. . but respect from everyone who knew me players, coaches, mentors, teammates in general, so it was definitely a celebration for me and something that I want all lgbtq plus people to feel something that I want all athletes to feel, both inside and outside , and it was a moment that I only looked back with the best feelings, but in that same sense, I imagine that this book you also want to extend to people who are not in the lgbtq plus community to also share your experience, of course, I think than the books.

They are a great way to see humans for who they are as humans and to create empathy. I believe that empathy is the most important thing that each of us can work on, that we can continue to grow and that helps us be allies, helps us be brothers, teammates. friends um and it just helps us get through this life because I think with almost 8 billion people in this world we're not meant to go through life feeling alone or isolated um or not included so I think this book yeah, it's a great message for those. who are lgbtq and people who play sports outside of sports, but it's also to extend a hand to those who aren't like me to allow them to read about someone's journey and see them as just a human being.

Did I read that correctly? Actually, it's not just a book. You're partnering with Sony Pictures. You're going to turn The Yards Between Us into not just a series but a comedy series. Yes, The Yards Between Us will be a comedy series. Union has collaborated on this, she will be a co-executive producer and she was really one of the ideas of comedy for me, to disarm people with laughter, to have people sit together and talk about topics that seem like difficult topics, but talk of them with a grain of salt and with joy and humor and hopefully disarm people so we can have a conversation about what it is to be a human being.

I know she's been very complimentary about your book too, huh. I'm curious, you know, since we're entering pride month here, RK, we as a society can tend to put people in boxes, you know, based on what boxes they can check in terms of gender, In terms of race or things like that, how? Look at yourself and your own identity I'm a

bisexual

black

man, that's who I am, that's who I've

always

been, regardless of how many times it's taken me to realize that intersections, uh, embody the communities that I They welcome you and make me feel invited. but at the end of the day the only box the only label that really matters to all of us is Being Human.

I fight for the LGBTQ community plus because of the disparity. I fight for the black community because of racism and things like that. but at the end of the day we are all human, the fight for equality and love is something we should all stand for for all communities and all people. Do you think that being younger you would ever imagine that you would be doing interviews saying with pride? You're a black bisexual man, no, not at all, a younger me was just trying to live life, find joy and I think my mission now, the book The Arts Between Us, all I do is make sure that young people can to do so regardless of the beautiful communities they embody in the labels they carry or that are placed on them.

It's been wonderful talking to you. RK Russell. Thanks for your time. You can pick up the among us yards wherever books are sold. Hello everyone. This is George Stephanopoulos. Thank you for visiting the ABC News YouTube channel. For more videos, highlights and live event coverage, click here on the right to subscribe to our channel and don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news. alerts thanks for watching