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| Michael Strahan (center) |
“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.”
~
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| 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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