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Tag: gay players

  • Lobbyist Wants Gay Players Banned from NFL

    Former Missouri player Michael Sam (above) knew to expect a certain amount of resistance after announcing that he is gay, which will make him the first openly gay player in the NFL after he is drafted, but he probably didn’t expect the latest twist–a Washington lobbyist is pushing for legislation that would ban gay players from the NFL. Jack Burkman announced on Monday that he is preparing legislation for a ban of gay players in the NFL because he believes allowing them to participate would reflect poorly on the United States.

    ”We are losing our decency as a nation,” said Burkman. “Imagine your son being forced to shower with a gay man. That’s a horrifying prospect for every mom in the country. What in the world has this nation come to?”

    Not surprisingly, the news that a Washington lobbyist is pushing for a gay player ban didn’t sit well with a lot of people. Check out some comments made to Burkman after he posted his comments about moms being scared to think about their sons in the locker room with a gay guy.

    NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that he is supporting Sam’s decision to come out and says that the league won’t discriminate based on sexual orientation. Apparently this statement by Goodell didn’t sit well with the Republican lobbyist, since this is part of the reason Burkman is pushing Congress to intervene.

    “I felt that if the NFL doesn’t have any morals, and people like Roger Goodell, who are just go-along-get-along guys, just want to appease advertisers, appease corporate America and all that stuff. I figured, well, it is time for conservatives in Congress to step in and define morality for them,” Burkman said.

    Even though Burkman’s announcement that he is pushing for a ban of gay players in the NFL was met with outrage by many people, Michael Sam doesn’t seem too bothered by it:

    Burkman’s firm lost its first client since he made his comments about a gay player ban. DC Solar executives Jeffery Carpoff and Paulette Carpoff told TIME that they don’t want their company to be associated with someone who has homophobic views.

    “DC Solar does not condone or support Mr. Burkman’s homophobic views, and since learning about his misguided efforts to write legislation banning gay athletes from the NFL, we have ended our relationship with him,” said the Carpoffs.

    “DC Solar values diversity within our company and within out communities, and we do not tolerate discrimination of any sort. As a company working to address issues about our country’s future, we have no intention of working with those stuck in the past.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Sportscaster Delivers Speech on Gay NFL Players

    After NFL Draft prospect Michael Sam came out last week, which will make him the first openly gay NFL player when he is drafted, the defensive end from Missouri has faced quite a bit of criticism. The potential backlash Sam will face as an openly gay football player led Texas sportscaster Dale Hansen to deliver a speech taking up for gay players on his show Dale Hansen Unplugged. In the monologue, Hansen questions why being gay poses a problem when players that get in trouble for DUI and domestic abuse are welcome in the NFL.

    Michael Sam spoke out about his sexuality last week on ESPN and in an interview with The New York Times. “I’m a college graduate. I’m African American, and I’m gay. I’m comfortable in my skin,” Sam said. The move could hurt Sam’s draft stock, but the Missouri player decided to come out about his sexuality instead of letting rumors swirl. “I just want to make sure I could tell my story the way I want to tell it,” said Sam. “I just want to own my truth.”

    Sports Illustrated posted a story to their website about the reactions surrounding Sam’s announcement, where writer Matthew Visinsky said that “eight NFL executives and coaches” said the decision will make Sam’s road to the NFL tougher. “I don’t think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet,” said an NFL player personnel assistant. “In the coming decade or two, it’s going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it’s still a man’s-man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. It’d chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room.”

    The assistant’s comments about Sam not being welcome because of his sexual orientation, because football is a “man’s-man game,” did not sit well with sportscaster Dale Hansen. Hansen went off on the comments during his show, accusing the NFL for being accepting of men who commit crimes while not welcoming a man who loves another man. Check out excerpts from Hansen’s speech below.

    Several NFL officials are telling Sports Illustrated it will hurt him on draft day because a gay player wouldn’t be welcome in an NFL locker room. It would be uncomfortable, because that’s a man’s world.

    You beat a woman and drag her down a flight of stairs, pulling her hair out by the roots? You’re the fourth guy taken in the NFL draft. You kill people while driving drunk? That guy’s welcome. Players caught in hotel rooms with illegal drugs and prostitutes? We know they’re welcome. Players accused of rape and pay the woman to go away? You lie to police trying to cover up a murder? We’re comfortable with that.

    You love another man? Well, now you’ve gone too far!

    Watch all of Hansen’s segment below:

    Hansen isn’t the only person supportive of the NFL hopeful. Sam commented on his Twitter account that many teammates and NFL players have been supportive of his announcement.

    Image via YouTube