Russell, R.K.

R.K. Russell

writer

R.K. Russell is an NFL football player, poet, writer, and artist. His interests are mental wellness, sexuality, and masculinity, and he specializes in telling stories that challenge the status quo and explore human existence. He was the first active NFL player to come out as bisexual in August 2019, and is the author of Prison or Passion (2019) and The Yards Between Us (2023). When he isn’t writing or watching sports, you can find him enjoying a Tarantino film or at the beach with a book he can’t put down.

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Articles by R.K. RUSSELL

The In-Between: Black Love and Interracial Dating

NFL player RK Russell grew up learning to cherish black love. What does it mean that he’s now in love and partnered with a white man?

The In-Between: The Poet and the Athlete

A lifelong poet and football player learns to punt the exhausting double life for a play right up the middle.

A player’s confession to his teammate best friend triggers an affirming undefeated streak — and an NFL career.

We should all strive to be our very best. But our value as humans is intrinsic.

Poetry by R.K. RUSSELL

A black poet invokes the champions of equality in a heartfelt plea for inclusion.

Bisexual, athlete and poet, sacred and mundane: an NFL player’s ethereal verse embodies the dualities of love.