NEW YORK -- A cornerback who spent four preseasons with three NFL teams and also played in NFL Europe has come out as gay, joining a small but growing number of former athletes who are publicly acknowledging they are gays or lesbians.

Wade Davis, who played in college at Weber State and spent the 2000 and 2002 preseasons with the Tennessee Titans, said he didn't tell his teammates he was gay because he feared the impact it would have in the locker room. Jevon Kearse and Samari Rolle were among his closest friends on the Titans, and he would later be invited to Rolle's wedding.