leekohler
Feb 4, 2010, 01:07 PM
It's taken how long? Who cares. I find it encouraging that pro sports players now feel they can discuss gay rights if they want. Not that a football player's opinion really matters, but it's nice to see them talking about it and they will actually most likely reach a few more people.
http://www.advocate.com/Sports/New_Orleans_Saints_Linebacker_Scott_Fujita_Talks_Gay_Rights/
So far, it's been you and Brendan Ayanbadejo who have been vocal proponents of gay marriage. Do you think there will be a third player anytime soon to express the same sentiments?
I thought what Brendan wrote was incredibly insightful, thought-provoking, and completely on point. And many people would call it courageous. But if Brendan's like me, I don't know if he'd consider what we've done all that courageous. We have strong feelings about equal rights, and to me, expressing those feelings isn't courageous, it's the right thing to do.
I think there will be a third player who expresses support for gay marriage ... and a fourth player, and a fifth, and so on. All it will take is someone who asks more guys their opinion. By and large, the business of football is still pretty 1950s, where the status quo and conformity to the principles of "just shut up and play football" are intact. But the athletes themselves are more than that. We're more than just football players, and many of us are much more open and tolerant than we get credit for. The reality, however, is that the locker room just isn't the place where these issues are discussed, and your everyday beat writer for the local sports page doesn't get paid to ask those questions.
Do you worry about alienating fans for being so supportive of gay marriage?
I've found that every time I open my mouth about an issue that's unrelated to football, I alienate some people. But that's a risk I'm willing to take. Because for every piece of hate mail I've received for speaking out in support of gay marriage or for wanting to bring the troops home or for discussing the injustices of Japanese internment, there's a dozen people who either appreciate what I'm doing or who think about the issue in a different way.
I have never claimed to have all the answers ... still haven't met someone who does. But I have some strong opinions about things, especially when it comes to issues of prejudice and inequality. I also recognize that the platform I've been given as a professional athlete will be taken from under me once I leave this game, at which point no one will care to ask my opinion. So in the meantime, why not stand for something?
Good for him. It does take guts to speak out, especially for football players.
http://www.advocate.com/Sports/New_Orleans_Saints_Linebacker_Scott_Fujita_Talks_Gay_Rights/
So far, it's been you and Brendan Ayanbadejo who have been vocal proponents of gay marriage. Do you think there will be a third player anytime soon to express the same sentiments?
I thought what Brendan wrote was incredibly insightful, thought-provoking, and completely on point. And many people would call it courageous. But if Brendan's like me, I don't know if he'd consider what we've done all that courageous. We have strong feelings about equal rights, and to me, expressing those feelings isn't courageous, it's the right thing to do.
I think there will be a third player who expresses support for gay marriage ... and a fourth player, and a fifth, and so on. All it will take is someone who asks more guys their opinion. By and large, the business of football is still pretty 1950s, where the status quo and conformity to the principles of "just shut up and play football" are intact. But the athletes themselves are more than that. We're more than just football players, and many of us are much more open and tolerant than we get credit for. The reality, however, is that the locker room just isn't the place where these issues are discussed, and your everyday beat writer for the local sports page doesn't get paid to ask those questions.
Do you worry about alienating fans for being so supportive of gay marriage?
I've found that every time I open my mouth about an issue that's unrelated to football, I alienate some people. But that's a risk I'm willing to take. Because for every piece of hate mail I've received for speaking out in support of gay marriage or for wanting to bring the troops home or for discussing the injustices of Japanese internment, there's a dozen people who either appreciate what I'm doing or who think about the issue in a different way.
I have never claimed to have all the answers ... still haven't met someone who does. But I have some strong opinions about things, especially when it comes to issues of prejudice and inequality. I also recognize that the platform I've been given as a professional athlete will be taken from under me once I leave this game, at which point no one will care to ask my opinion. So in the meantime, why not stand for something?
Good for him. It does take guts to speak out, especially for football players.
