"Which lucky guy are you bringing to the holiday party?"That was the question posed to me by a male co-worker I barely knew in the breakroom. HR operatives might be squirming in their chairs reading this, but it's the kind of workplace interaction most women have to navigate -- and one that was especially awkward for me, given the secret I was keeping.I was new to NFL Media and didn't have my bearings yet. I panicked, pretended I had forgotten about the party and thanked this co-worker for the "reminder." Walking away with my morning coffee, I couldn't help but Matt Milano Jersey wonder how he would've reacted if I had provided my honest answer.I've always despised conversations around my sexual orientation. Always been uncomfortable correcting those who automatically a sume I live the heteronormative life they do. I've paid close attention to conversations and looked for tells. When someone speaks positively about a person who is gay -- or supports gay rights -- I feel safer divulging my experiences. Do others worry about telling a co-worker they're straight? Who am I kidding? They don't even think about it.My name is Erica Tamposi. I am an NFL Network producer. I am on-air talent. I am a creative. I am a friend. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am a football fan. And I am gay.I list Siran Neal Jersey that descriptor last on purpose. It's part of me, but I'm more than that. I don't want it to define me on its own. In fact, for many years, I hid it.The journey to where I stand now, comfortable being my full self at work, was not always an easy one to travel. After watching some strong LGBTQ+ profe sionals in the sports world publicly a sert their right to be who they are, I wanted to share what my journey was like.When I was hired by the NFL in 2017, I Devin Singletary Jersey a sumed it would be an actively inclusive space for the LGBTQ+ community, an environment where I wouldn't feel like an outsider. Not exactly. It's impo sible to tell someone's sexuality just by looking at them, although sometimes there are hints. Feminine women and masculine men in the LGBTQ+ community have a struggle of their own, constantly having to come out to people because they don't "look gay." But upon starting Matt Breida Jersey my new job, I quickly realized that, to the naked eye, the NFL was as straight as a workplace could be. Tough, hard, edgy football players, buttoned-up executives and female on-air talent always dre sed to the nines. As I looked around a neighboring cubicle cluster, producers were sporting full heels and skirts, casually talking about their boyfriends and husbands while they pulled up some editing footage on their computers. An easy-going side conversation to them -- and an alert to me:Falling for stereotypes, I initially figured there would be a bigger open lesbian presence within a sports-driven organization and was looking forward to that po sibility. That just wasn't the case. Consequently, as I walked through those doors each day, I prepared myself to experience -- and engage with -- the heteronormative narratives that have always emanated from society and my own conservative upbringing. Even though my parents never said, "Hide who you are," I grew up trained with a simple sort of mantra:Taking cues from society and my own fear, this really meant something different:And my early days in the NFL Media environment only exacerbated my self-doubt.With each thought, I felt my chances of breaking through dwindling. So I kept my private life separate from my work life. In my mind, it could only hurt my ultimate goal of becoming on-air talent and growing a following within sports media. I felt tense around co-workers and supervisors. It's an all-too-common way of thinking that plagues many in Kaiir Elam Jersey the LGBTQ+ community, and I battled those fears every Tyrel Dodson Jersey day. The internal quickly impacted the external, as I also felt the need to maintain a certain physical image. Each morning, I believed I had to put on the clothes and makeup that I knew wouldn't "give me away."However, amidst the turmoil, one thought consistently tugged at me:Fortunately, I earned the chance to confront that very question when I became a voice on the . It was a gradual transition, but the four male hosts of the show, production team and fans welcomed me with open arms, and I finally felt like I could showcase my true self. The closer I got with my new co-workers -- and, ultimately, friends -- the more I felt like I could trust them and share my secret without judgement.