(Los Angeles)  HBO aired Esera Tuaolo 's coming out interview Tuesday night, and it sent a rush of testosterone through the NFL as players lined up to denounce gays on the gridiron.

Tuaolo, who played on the Vikings' defensive line from 1992-96, said he felt overwhelmed by the frustration of hearing gay jokes from teammates and his unwillingness to confront them.

"I want to make clear that it wasn't like that every day, but listening to those comments from players kind of slid me further into the closet. The funny thing is, you laugh along with it," Tuaolo said.

"I know I can't be the only one, but I understand what they're going through. Now that I'm out, I do understand what players are going through and I feel for them. Hopefully this is the start of something great."

Not if other players in the league have anything to say about it.

A former teammate and a current ESPN broadcaster, Sterling Sharpe said that any player who declared himself gay would be driven off the team. Sharpe implied that players would feel threatened; a gay teammate would cast doubts in fans' minds about all players' masculinity and sexual orientation.

That attitude was reinforced by another former Packers teammate of Tuaolo's: LeRoy Butler.

Butler, while praising Tuaolo's courage, said that players in the NFL have a particular problem with gays because of the fact that they shower together. Butler said he " has nothing against gay people in general,"  but, he "would not be in a rush to enter a shower" while an openly gay teammate was present.

Miami Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain said that if there are gay football players they should stay in the closet.

"There would be a lot of repercussions. He'll be alienated. This is a man's game. This is a physical game. You don't want to hear anything like that in the locker room."

But Dolphin tight end Ed Perry disagrees.

"If he's doing his job, it would be kind of weird, but if you're a man and you approach your situation like a professional, let him be him and let yourself be yourself."

Offensive lineman Mark Dixon expects that there one day will be an openly gay player in the league. 

"There's no doubt it will happen eventually," Dixon said. "I think in order for a guy to do it, he's going to have to be a superstar. Obviously he's going to have to take on so much. That would be a tough cross to bear. There's such a machismo around football that that would be tough."

And, Tuaolo got praise from a man who played college ball with him more than a decade ago.

Matt Booher, a former Oregon State quarterback, was co-captain with Tuaolo in 1990 and was his roommate on trips. Booher said teammates and fans respected Tuaolo for his skill and leadership and would not have cared if he had revealed his sexual orientation.

"I think that if he had decided at that point to come out, say that he was gay, I honestly think that the people at Oregon State and the players and the coaches, everybody would have been supportive and we could have gotten on with business as usual," Booher said.

Tuaolo is the third former NFL player to reveal his homosexuality. Ten years ago, Roy Simmons of the New York Giants came out, and it has been 27 years since Dave Kopay, a running back for the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers, made his announcement.

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