Wade Davis (American football)

Early life and college years

Davis was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and spent most of his childhood in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was raised in a Southern Baptist family and went to church four to five times a week. Davis was the only boy and the youngest child in his family. Davis suffered from a speech impediment and did not like to talk, which added to his feelings of loneliness. At seven years of age, Davis discovered football.

Davis later moved to Aurora, Colorado and attended Overland High School, graduating in 1996.

Davis played college football first at Mesa State College, a small college in Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1996. He transferred to Weber State University of Ogden, Utah in 1997 and played three seasons on the Weber State Wildcats football team. As a sophomore in 1997, Davis blocked two kicks. In 1999, his senior year, Davis made 11 tackles in one game for Weber State and was an honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference selection. With Weber State, Davis made 142 tackles (3 for loss), one fumble recovery, 2 forced fumbles, 20 passes defended, and 2 interceptions.

Professional football

At the NFL Scouting Combine of 2000, Davis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds. The Tennessee Titans signed Davis as an undrafted free agent on April 18, 2000 after the 2000 NFL Draft. Davis was cut after training camp.

In 2001, the Titans allocated Davis to the NFL Europe team Berlin Thunder. Starting all 10 games as left cornerback, Davis wore jersey number 23 and led Berlin with 57 tackles in the season and won World Bowl IX with the team. Davis also made 0.5 sack, 1 interception, and 5 passes defended. After the NFL Europe season, Davis spent the 2001 preseason in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks.

Davis was selected in the first round of the 2002 NFL Europe allocation draft by the Barcelona Dragons. In 2002 with Barcelona, Davis wore jersey number 25 and made 41 tackles, 6 passes defended, and 5 special teams tackles.

Wearing jersey number 42, Davis returned to the Tennessee Titans in 2002 for training camp and preseason but was cut before the regular season. In 2003, he participated in training camp with the Washington Redskins and wore jersey #36 but retired from football due to a leg injury.

Activism, teaching, public speaking and campaigns

His activism, work and story has been featured in The Washington Post, CNN, Al Jazeera America, NPR, WBUR, USA Today, Ebony Magazine, People Magazine, BET, Outsports, and Bleacher Report.

In 2014, Davis joined NYU School of Professional Studies Tisch Institute for Sports Management, Media, and Business as adjunct faculty.

Davis joined the Advisory Board for You Can Play, an organization dedicated to fighting homophobia in professional sports. On August 20, 2013, he was named executive director of the organization.

Davis co-founded, with Darnell L. Moore, the YOU Belong Initiative, an organization offering LGBTQ and straight allied youth a three-day, comprehensive sports instruction and leadership development clinic. As part of YOU Belong, Davis also began the Speaker's Collective, aimed at providing support, promotion and sense of community for LGBTQ professionals of color.

In 2014, Davis became the NFL’s first Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, where he works with the NFL and their corporate sponsors to break down the barriers that exist between the NFL and the LGBT community by leading inclusion training sessions and national engagement initiatives.

Davis created the "#ThisIsLuv" campaign alongside Darnell L. Moore, to highlight LGBT love in the Black community.

Davis helped launch the Ms. Foundation campaign “#MyFeminismIs” and later partnered with the Ms. Foundation and Ebony Magazine to launch the “#BlackMenAndFeminism” campaign.

Television

Davis guest-starred on season 2 of the critically acclaimed drama American Crime (TV Series) in 2016.

Writing

His writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Outsports, Sports Illustrated, The Advocate and the Guardian.

Davis's contributions are included in the book, For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Still Not Enough: Coming of Age, Coming Out, and Coming Home by Keith Boykin. His memoir, Interference, was scheduled to be released in Winter 2015. The memoir will chronicle his struggles growing up in a strict religious household and working and advocating for LGBTQ rights.

Affiliations and memberships

Davis was recently appointed to the board of GMHC.

Davis became a member of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network sport-advisory board in 2012.

Davis is also a supporter of President Barack Obama and worked as an LGBT surrogate for his 2012 reelection campaign. (May 4, 2016). [3].

Awards and honors