Esera Tuaolo
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Esera Tavai Tuaolo (born July 11, 1968), nicknamed "Mr. Aloha", is an American former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
for nine seasons in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...
.


Football career

At
Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...
, Tuaolo was a member of the
Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate mem ...
fraternity. He won the Morris Trophy in 1989, which is given to the best defensive lineman in the Pac-10. He was named Pac-10 Conference First-team twice and as a senior he was a finalist for the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy. Tuaolo then had a successful career as a nose tackle in the NFL for nine seasons, playing for five NFL teams. The
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
drafted him in the
1991 NFL draft The 1991 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott Ma ...
in the second round as the 35th overall pick. He 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. Tuaolo then played 60 games for the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
from 1992 to 1996; 6 games for the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
in 1997; 13 games for the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
in 1998; and 12 games for the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
in 1999. In his 9-year career he recorded 200 tackles, 12 sacks, and 1 interception, and, in 1998, won the NFC Championship with the Atlanta Falcons before losing in the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos. During that
Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...
, Tuaolo recorded the last tackle of football legend
John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 1 ...
.


Music career

Tuaolo has entertained a singing career during and after football. While with the Packers, for example, Tuaolo once sang the
National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
in full pads before a game against the Chicago Bears, and then immediately after started in that game. He 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 The 2006 Gay Games (Gay Games VII), colloquially called the Chicago Gaymes, was part of a family of international sports and cultural festivals called Gay Games, sanctioned by the Federation of Gay Games and organized by the gay, lesbian, bis ...
, a
quadrennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...
Olympics-style event. He has also released his own music, such as "Stronger" and "Another Broken Heart" the latter with
Lari White Lari Michele White Cannon (, ; May 13, 1965 – January 23, 2018) was an American country musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning ''You Can Be a Star'', a televised talent competition o ...
, and has performed at various venues and events in the United States and Europe.


''The Voice''

In 2017, he auditioned for season 13 of '' The Voice'' singing " Rise Up" from
Andra Day Cassandra Monique Batie (born December 30, 1984), known professionally as Andra Day, is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Children's and Family Emmy ...
. Two of the four judges,
Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...
and Blake Shelton turned their chair. Tuaolo chose to be on Team Blake. In the Battle round, he was paired with Team Blake contestant Rebecca Brunner, both singing "This I Promise You" from NSYNC. Coach Shelton chose Tuaolo to go to the Knockouts round. In the Knockouts, he confronted Adam Cunningham. Tuaolo sang "Superstar (Delaney and Bonnie song), Superstar" from Delaney & Bonnie made famous by The Carpenters and also famously covered by Luther Vandross. Coach Shelton opted to keep Tuaolo for the playoff round, eliminating Cunningham from his team. On the Playoffs broadcast on November 13, 2017, he sang "How Do I Live" from LeAnn Rimes. Blake Shelton, being forced to pick only three of his team's six finalists, chose to exclude Tuaolo from his final three, thus eliminating Tuaolo from the competition.


Personal life

Tuaolo is of Samoan American, Samoan descent. In 2002, having retired from sports in 1999, Tuaolo announced to the public that he is homosexuality, gay, coming out on HBO's ''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Real Sports''. This made him the third former NFL player to come out, after David Kopay and Roy Simmons (American football), Roy Simmons. Another NFL player, Garrison Hearst, made anti-gay comments when he heard the news, but he later apologized. Tuaolo met his partner, Mitchell Wherley, at a nightclub in 1995, and the couple hid their relationship from the public. Between Tuaolo's retirement from the NFL and coming out as gay, he and Wherley adopted twin infants. a boy and a girl. Tuaolo and Wherley's relationship ended in 2007. Since coming out, Tuaolo has been a strong advocate for the LGBT community. He has worked with the NFL to combat homophobia in the league and is a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation. Tuaolo has testified at the Minnesota state legislature Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in opposition to an anti-gay marriage bill. He 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. Tuaolo's current LGBT advocacy primarily involves speaking at colleges and corporations about the pervasiveness of homophobia and helping organizational leaders create a fair and safe environment for their members and employees. Tuaolo was Grand Marshal of the Chicago Pride Parade in 2004. Tuaolo's autobiography, ''Alone in the Trenches: My Life As a Gay Man in the NFL'', was released in spring 2006. It details Tuaolo's upbringing, and sheds light on how his experiences with poverty, sexuality, and football shaped him.


See also

* Homosexuality in American football


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuaolo, Esera Living people 1968 births American football defensive tackles Atlanta Falcons players Carolina Panthers players Green Bay Packers players Gay memoirists Jacksonville Jaguars players Minnesota Vikings players Oregon State Beavers football players Players of American football from Honolulu American sportspeople of Samoan descent LGBTQ players of American football American gay sportsmen LGBTQ people from Hawaii The Voice (franchise) contestants 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people People from Chino, California Pacific Islander American players of American football 20th-century American sportsmen