Roy Simmons was the second former player to announce that he was gay, doing so in 1992 after his career with the Giants and Washington Football Team had ended. Positive and died from pneumonia-related complications in 2014 at age 57. Some players like Simmons said they felt they had no choice but to hide their sexual identity while they were in the league. Simmons said he cultivated a reputation for being the life of the party, and had to compartmentalize his football life and his personal life. Simmons also said he never would have declared himself gay during the four seasons he played for the N.F.L. Has a reputation,” he said in 2003, “and it’s not even a verbal thing - it’s just known.