My Life On The Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me, and Ended Up Saving My Life

Ryan O'Callaghan’s plan was always to play football and then, when his career was over, kill himself. Growing up, the not-so-subtle messages he heard from his family and from TV and film equated being gay with disease and death. Bubbling under the surface of his NFL career was a collision course between his secret sexuality and hidden drug use. A member of the Chiefs organisation stepped in, recognising the signs of drug addiction. Ryan reluctantly sought psychological help, and it was there that he revealed his lifelong secret. He faced a fork in the road: end it, or find out if his family and football friends could accept him.