18 Facts About Esera Tuaolo

Esera Tuaolo played college football for the Oregon State Beavers.

At Oregon State University, Tuaolo was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Esera Tuaolo won the Morris Trophy in 1989, which is given to the best defensive lineman in the Pac-10.

Esera Tuaolo was named Pac-10 Conference First-team twice and as a senior he was a finalist for the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy.

Esera Tuaolo then had a successful career as a nose tackle in the NFL for nine seasons, playing for five NFL teams.

Esera Tuaolo played 20 games for the Green Bay Packers from 1991 to 1992, was the first rookie in Packer history to start all 16 games in a season, and was a member of the 1991 all-rookie team.

Esera Tuaolo then played 60 games for the Minnesota Vikings from 1992 to 1996; 6 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1997; 13 games for the Atlanta Falcons in 1998; and 12 games for the Carolina Panthers in 1999.

Esera Tuaolo has entertained a singing career during and after football.

Esera Tuaolo has since sung the anthem at professional sporting events, from NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA games to the opening ceremony of the Gay Games VII, a quadrennial Olympics-style event.

Esera Tuaolo has released his own music, such as "Stronger" and "Another Broken Heart" the latter with Lari White, and has performed at various venues and events in the United States and Europe.

Coach Shelton chose Esera Tuaolo to go to the Knockouts round.

In 2002, having retired from sports in 1999, Esera Tuaolo announced to the public that he is gay, coming out on HBO's Real Sports.

Esera Tuaolo met his partner, Mitchell Wherley, at a nightclub in 1995, and the couple hid their relationship from the public.

Since coming out, Esera Tuaolo has been a strong advocate for the LGBT community.

Esera Tuaolo has worked with the NFL to combat homophobia in the league and is a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation.

Esera Tuaolo has testified at the Minnesota state legislature Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in opposition to an anti-gay marriage bill.

Esera Tuaolo makes and has made appearances on various television programs, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tyra Banks Show, Good Morning America and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, to talk about and combat homophobia.

Esera Tuaolo was Grand Marshal of the Chicago Pride Parade in 2004.