Ryan O'Callaghan

Ryan Thomas O'Callaghan (born July 19, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle.[1] He played college football at California and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft.[2][3] He also played for the Kansas City Chiefs.[4]

Ryan O'Callaghan
refer to caption
O'Callaghan with the Chiefs in 2010
No. 68, 75
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1983-07-19) July 19, 1983
Susanville, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:330 lb (150 kg)
Career information
High school:Enterprise (Redding, California)
College:California
NFL Draft:2006 / Round: 5 / Pick: 136
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:51
Games started:20
Fumble recoveries:2
Player stats at NFL.com

Professional career

New England Patriots

As a rookie, O'Callaghan started in his first NFL game against the Buffalo Bills in 2006 at right tackle.[5] He would go on to start six games in 2006, as well as a game in 2007, filling in for injured starter Nick Kaczur. O'Callaghan missed the entire 2008 season after being placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury on August 28. He was waived by the Patriots on September 5, 2009, during final cuts.

Kansas City Chiefs

O'Callaghan was picked up off waivers by the Kansas City Chiefs on September 6, 2009, after being released by New England the previous day. He started 12 games that year. The Chiefs re-signed O'Callaghan on April 15, 2010.[6] He played in 11 games with one start.

Honors and awards

On December 20, 2014, O'Callaghan was inducted into the Shasta County Sports Hall of Fame along with several other athletes from Shasta County, California, such as Max Burch, Sam Enochian, Jeff Foster, Ricky Ray, Megan Rapinoe, Eddie Wilson, and Mark Wilson.[7]

Personal life

O'Callaghan was raised in Redding, California. In June 2017, he came out as gay in an interview with Outsports.[8][9] He shared his struggle with self-acceptance and that he had convinced himself that no one would accept him as a gay man, reconciling that he would end his life when his football career had ended. The turning point was when he came out to the Chiefs' clinical psychologist, and then later to teammates and family, who were all supportive. He now speaks openly about his struggles and coming out.[10][11][12]

In 2019 his autobiography, My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life, was published.[13][14] He started the Ryan O'Callaghan Foundation, which provides scholarships to LGBT youth.[15][16]

See also

References
  1. Elman, Jake (2021-01-15). "Ex-Patriots Offensive Lineman Ryan O'Callaghan Intended to End His Life After His NFL Career". Sportscasting | Pure Sports. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  2. "2006 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  3. "Behind the Scenes with T Ryan O'Callaghan". www.patriots.com. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  4. "Ryan O'Callaghan Stats Summary". NFL.com. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  5. "Q & A with OT Ryan O'Callaghan". www.patriots.com. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  6. "NFL Football Transactions - National Football League - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  7. Induction Ceremony Events & Information Archived 2018-06-30 at the Wayback Machine, Shasta County Sports Hall Of Fame website
  8. "Ryan O'Callaghan, former New England Patriots lineman, comes out as gay". The Guardian. 2017-06-20. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  9. "How Ex-NFL Star Ryan O'Callaghan Found the Courage to Come Out". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  10. Zeigler, Cyd (June 20, 2017). "Former Patriots and Chiefs tackle Ryan O'Callaghan comes out as gay". Outsports.
  11. Peter, Josh (August 10, 2017). "'Life's great now' for Ryan O'Callaghan, the ex-NFL player who came out as gay". USA Today.
  12. "How Ryan O'Callaghan's story of being gay in the NFL is helping to smash stereotypes". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  13. O'Callaghan, Ryan (2019). My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life. Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-758-7.
  14. O'Callaghan, Ryan (2019). My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life. Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-759-4.
  15. "How Ex-NFL Star Ryan O'Callaghan Found the Courage to Come Out". www.advocate.com. 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  16. Silverman, Robert (2021-09-13). "The Ex-NFL Player Pushing for LGBTQ Acceptance in America's Toughest Sport". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
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