Out of Bounds: Coming out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet [Paperback]

Roy Simmons (Author), Damon DiMarco (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 2006

When New York Giants coach Ray Perkins stated, "Roy Simmons just might be the best athlete on this football team," no one could have guessed that in just four years, Simmons would earn his living as a baggage handler at Kennedy Airport. The second NFL player ever to come out as gay and the first ever to come out as HIV-positive, Simmons was an up-and-coming star who quit football after just four years rather than be exposed as gay. Out of Bounds tells his story — from his rape at age 10 to being plucked from his poor Southern background to join the NFL, from his first taste of pro football fame and sudden enormous wealth to his fast-paced, no holds barred nightlife of heavy drugs and countless sexual encounters with women and men. Simmons roller-coaster life peaked in the late 1980s with his appearance in the Superbowl. Ultimately, reckless living left him penniless, friendless, and on the brink of suicide. Finally in 1992, he tapped the courage to come out as gay on national TV, and as HIV-positive 10 years later — an act which set him on the path towards sobriety and self-acceptance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1992, on the Phil Donahue show, former NFL offensive lineman Roy Simmons let the world in on his secret: Simmons, a seven-year veteran of the NFL who had traded the gridiron for a crackpipe, was gay. Only the second NFL player to admit he was gay (a third, Esera Tuaolo, has since made the announcement), Simmons's confession shocked the sports world. But it is what led up to that show that proves even more shocking. In this gritty, unflinching memoir, Simmons recounts how keeping his sexuality tucked tightly under his football pads steered him into a clandestine life filled with sex, drugs, sex, lies and sex. Unlike recently celebrated and bestselling rehab memoirs, Simmons's story has no happy ending. Nor is there a happy beginning or happy middle. And be forewarned: Simmons pulls no punches in speaking directly (read: profanely) about his experiences-the sex is explicit and the drugs are rampant. Simmons has since become the only former NFL player to disclose that he is HIV positive, but his illness has done little to derail his self-destructive lifestyle. Even now, 13 years after that televised confession, he seems strangely proud of his exploits. This memoir may not be a must-own for the casual-or even avid-football fan, but it should be required reading for every nascent professional athlete-as a manual of what not to do.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Roy Simmons is only one of three former NFL players to publicly disclose his homosexuality. An offensive lineman with the New York Giants and Washington Redskins from 1979-84, he came out as gay on television in 1992. Simmons works as a supervisor in a Long Island drug halfway house.

Damon DiMarco is the author of Tower Stories: The Autobiography of September 11, 2001. He’s currently on the faculty of Drew University and lives in New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (December 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786719095
• ISBN-13: 978-0786719099
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,567,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a fun and shocking eye opener, February 17, 2006

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Out of Bounds: Coming Out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet (Hardcover)

Audre Lorde said "We need a litany for survival." I sooo appreciate when black gay men and lesbians write about their lives, whether they were successful or unsuccessful in their struggles. Here, Simmons speaks of his life in the NFL, having sex with both genders, contracting HIV, surviving childhood sexual abuse, and battling drug addiction. I think this book will be helpful to many populations of readers.

When many people say, "I like doing X", they also mean, "I hate doing Y." or when they say, "I like group X" they let it be known that they "hate group Y." This can be painful for people in Group Y to hear. However, Mr. Simmons is a man who likes everything. Not only does he like men and women, he's cool with blacks and whites. He is proud to do all types of things in the bedroom. This is a football player who likes to pitch and catch, in addition to playing on both teams. This will make many readers comfortable.

My big critique is how he never acknowledges racism or homophobia. Here's a black man who never questions how he easily gets into predominantly white gay spaces. He never once links his jail time to the disproportionate number of brothers who are locked up. Simmons is clearly no Donald Suggs or Keith Boykin, but I wish he spent some time looking at the societal forces that affect him, and others like him. In so many ways, Simmons embodies the "down-low" phenomenon which J.L. King wants to solely represent. Straight women that have loved gay or bisexual men, especially within the African-American community, may appreciate learning more from him.

Usually, layperson-y, chatty autobios have photo sections. This book did not. That surprises me because many of his lovers and relatives still support him despite his lies and conduct while under drugs' influence. His co-author's name is misspelled on the spine of the hardcover. There are times when Simmons discusses scientific or historical matters and it is clearly information that his co-author found and inserted rather than something the football player actually knew.

I like the way that Simmons conveys that he is a work in progress. He may not have conquered drugs or promiscuity. Still, he may offer hope that people can do so. I won't say that I couldn't put this book down, but I will say it was highly enjoyable reading.

It's so amazing that though only 3 NLF players have come out, all have written autobiographies.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy Life Makes Great Book!!, January 1, 2006

By 

Lucas J. Kerr (Des Moines, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Bounds: Coming Out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet (Hardcover)

Roy Simmon's has lived one crazy life and he shares it with us in his great book Out of Bounds. It starts with the story of his childhood in poor Savanah and his rape at the hands of a neighbor, his realization of his homosexuality, right through his awesome career as a football player and his fight with drugs. It is one rollercoaster ride that you shouldn't miss. Gay or straight, jock or not, this is one great book. Lets just hope that other gay athletes start to step forward and tell their stories because only the truth will set us free.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Got A Little Tiring, December 13, 2009

By 

So. Calif book reader "readalot" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Bounds: Coming out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet (Paperback)

This book kept my attention and I was anxious to read it---but after Roy turned into a druggie, it got kind of boring. One slip up after another, making feeble attempts to stop. I got to the point where I was hoping he'd OD and die. Put him out of his misery. I find it rather strange that he uses all kinds of bad language and is rather descriptive in describing some of his sexual trysts, yet he gets religion in the book. It certainly didn't do anything to clean up his mouth. And now that he has found religion, is he claiming he's "cured" of being gay and finds it wrong and that it was a big mistake? The book doesn't say and there isn't much follow up available over the internet so I guess Roy's vanished into society. If he's been "cured" and now condemns homosexuality, I would be VERY upset with him, saying that he only used this book for profit. He was pro-gay through the book. I'm not saying he has to become a spokesman for the gay community or take up AIDS causes, but I think he has to remain true to himself and admit being gay. I also kind of got the implication that after he was outed and found religion, that he kind of used his being raped by a male neighbor as his 'excuse' for being homosexual, which I think is a big cop-out. He even admits he liked it and was interested in other guys at this same time. Is it who he's talking to at the time or is he consistent with his truth. Being the liar and self centered louse he was in the book, I do wonder.