Country Singer Orville Peck Drops Wild Confession About Making Out With Raiders Player

This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Orville Peck has never been an artist who follows the traditional country music blueprint. The masked singer has built his career around blending country sounds with his openly queer identity.

His latest project takes that honesty even further. Peck released his fourth studio album, Mule, on Friday. The record explores addiction, recovery, relationships and some of the most difficult periods of his life.

One moment from the album has attracted some attention for a completely different reason. Peck included a personal reference to a Las Vegas Raiders player on the track “Ring the Bell.” He later confirmed that the line reflected a real encounter with an NFL player.

The line goes, “I love the Lakers, the Mets and the Longhorns, made out with a guy on the Raiders.”

Peck also made clear that he did not reveal the story without permission. In an interview with Variety, he explained that the unnamed player approved the reference before the song came out.

“I did receive permission to sing that lyric from the subject in question and he was very thrilled,” Peck said.

That makes the story considerably different from a celebrity accidentally exposing someone’s private life. Peck deliberately kept the athlete anonymous while confirming that the encounter happened.

Orville Peck Kept The Raiders Player Anonymous Despite Getting Permission

Peck explained that he could have identified the player. However, he decided that revealing the name was unnecessary.

He also said he would not have included the story if the athlete had been uncomfortable with the attention. Peck stressed that the player knew about the song before its release.

“This person would have probably allowed me to say their name if I wanted, but I didn’t think it was necessary,” Peck said.

That decision has naturally left the identity open to speculation. One name has already emerged repeatedly because of the player’s history with the Raiders.

Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to publicly come out as gay while playing for Las Vegas in 2021. However, Peck has not confirmed that Nassib was the player involved.

Orville Peck’s New Album Contains Much Deeper Personal Material

The Raiders revelation is only one small piece of Mule. Peck has described the album as a deeply personal account of addiction and recovery.

He has spoken openly about his 2023 overdose and subsequent rehabilitation. The experience heavily influenced the album’s subject matter.

Peck also recently performed the full album during two shows at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre. He is scheduled to make his Hollywood Bowl debut on Friday, adding another major milestone to the album’s release week.

For now, the Raiders player remains unnamed. Peck has made his position clear, though. The encounter happened, the athlete approved its inclusion, and the singer intends to keep the mystery intact.