Thursday, September 13, 2012

28+ Pro-Gay NFL Players

From Outsports:

It took Chris Kluwe invoking the specter of “cockmonsters” for the public to realize that their are NFL players who are pro-gay marriage. Kluwe, of the Minnesota Vikings, was defending fellow player Brendon Ayanbadejo for supporting marriage equality in Maryland. Ayanbadejo was criticized for speaking out by politician Emmett Burns, who wrote that “I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing.”

How wrong Burns is and he was off by more than two dozen. Outsports has identified 28 current NFL players (as well as some free agents and some in management) who have issued support for gays — be it marriage or as teammates or gay rights in general. (Thanks to a reader, we have added Shaun Cody of the Texans to the original list). Some are huge stars, such as Robert Griffin III and Rob Gronkowski, but all have been articulate and thoughtful on the issue. 

The number is almost certainly larger — Ayanbadejo estimates that 70% of NFL players support gay marriage (which would be 1,187 players). That’s an impossible figure to verify short of polling all 1,696 players, so we’ll stick with what is in the public realm. Our list represents only people Outsports has interviewed or whose views have been publicized.

You can see Outsports' list of pro-gay NFL players HERE.

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