Sunday, September 9, 2012

The "Homophobic" Perception of Football Players

Michael Strahan (center)
 From the New York Times:

“It was unexpected to a lot of gay people to have someone from the most masculine sports league in the country come to the defense of the gay community and attack this person,” said Cyd Zeigler, a founder of Outsports.com. “It was unexpected, and it was awesome. To see the clear passion for this topic, I think, was energizing.” 
~
In the past week, [Brendon] Ayanbadejo has been contacted by supporters in Brazil, Norway, England, Australia, Colombia and Ireland. He has also been overwhelmed by the support of his Ravens teammates and other N.F.L. players. “I’d say the majority of players are siding with me, that all people have a right to live and love and be happy,” Ayanbadejo said in a telephone interview. “That’s really amazing. I’m very happy to see the tides changing in the positive.” 

Kluwe, whose brother-in-law is gay, said all but “four or five of about 6,000” messages he had received on Twitter in response to his letter were positive.

“I think the culture in the N.F.L. has become a lot more tolerant in the last 10 years or so,” Kluwe said in a telephone interview. “There’s a younger generation coming in every year or two, and they make me hopeful of the future.”
 ~
Scott Fujita (left)
And, Ellner said, support for gay-rights issues is on the rise in the league. The current and former N.F.L. players Scott Fujita, Michael Strahan and Nic Harris are among those who have spoken out in support of same-sex marriage. The Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, who had a brother who was gay, appeared on the cover of Out magazine. Zeigler said he had interviewed 25 current players in the past year, all of whom said they would welcome a gay teammate. 

Perhaps most noteworthy, in August the San Francisco 49ers became the first N.F.L. team to join the It Gets Better campaign, creating an anti-bullying video in support of gay, lesbian and transgender youth.

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