Michael Irvin, a Dallas Cowboy superstar and prizeholder to three Superbowl wins, joins Ben Cohen, Hudson Taylor, Mike Chabala, and Nick Youngquest as the latest ally to support gay rights and marriage equality. And now, in his recent interview and cover shoot at OUT Magazine, Irvin emerges as much more than a football legacy: rather, Irvin’s compassionate, purposeful interview and well-intended meaning to life lends itself to a new breed of sports athlete: an acceptance for homosexuality that transcends personal belief to the football field.
Irvin graces the cover of OUT Magazine majestically – with outright drive to get the job done (glistening in the sun ain’t bad to look at, either). More than his cover shoot, though, is Irvin’s passion now turned toward the gay community with a connection involving family ties.
In his interview, Irvin opens up about his homosexual brother, Vaughn Irvin, a cross-dresser, in a story taking place in Fort Lauderdale circa late-1970. Irvin, then age 12, in a car ride with his father, caught glimpse of his brother walking on the street in women’s clothing.
“It couldn’t be Vaughn… this man was wearing women’s clothes,” recalled Irvin.
But it was.
“My brother had a very distinctive walk,” said Irvin.
As Irvin turned to his father beside him, Irvin explained, “My dad looked back at me and said, ‘Yes, that’s your brother. And you love your brother.’”
Irvin never spoke about the incident again. Later, his memory of his cross-dressing brother was a hazy thought as he displaced it far from memory’s reach.
Irvin would carry on to become an NFL superhero, maintaining a reputation for a “self-destructive celebrity who polarized public opinion like no other athlete of his generation,” according to OUT Magazine. “Irvin was a great player with a big mouth and a nasty streak, a man with a penchant for fast living. He made it a point to parade his female conquests past his teammates. Although he’s been married to his wife, Sandy, since 1990, Irvin made what he calls ‘mistakes’ throughout his Cowboys career.”
But now, after soul searching, and in a feat to discover life’s meaning, Irvin emerges as a different breed: an athlete with the ability to look to his past, acknowledge his mistakes, and do something about it – a sort of retribution for his days of past waywardness.
“We went back to that day,” Irvin said, recalling the car ride in Fort Lauderdale, “and through it all, we realized maybe some of the issues I’ve had with so many women…maybe that’s residual of the fear I had that, if my brother is wearing ladies’ clothes, am I going to be doing that? Is it genetic? I’m certainly not making excuses for my bad decisions. But I had to dive inside of me to find out why I was making these decisions, and that came up.”
Today, Irvin talks openly about his brother Vaughn and his openness to homosexuality.
“If anyone comes out in those top four major sports, I will absolutely support him,” said Irvin. “That’s why I do my radio show every day. When these issues come out, I want to have a voice to speak about them. I think growth comes when we share. Until we do that, we’re going to be stuck in the Dark Ages about a lot of things,” said Irvin.
As a deeply religious man, Irvin’s soul searching has led him down a path of equality and acceptance – a worthwhile lesson to be learned by all professional athletes.
“When a guy steps up and said, ‘This is who I am,’ I guarantee you I’ll give him 100% support.”
Read the entire Michael Irvin interview at OUT Magazine.
