Sources say at least one gay NFL player may be ready to make his sexual orientation public.
In a recent post by National NFL Insider Mike Freeman on CBSSports.com, he explores the question of whether or not the NFL is ready for a player, or players, to “come out” and declare their homosexuality. Freeman points out that former player Scott Fujita, along with a “coalition of current and former NFL players, and NFL team owners, a music mogul and others, are working diligently to create a safe atmosphere,” for just that historic day.
What Freeman also points out is there are “serious indications” that an NFL player coming out publicly may be much closer than people realize. He said,
Based on interviews over the past several weeks with current and former players, I’m told that a current gay NFL player is strongly considering coming out publicly within the next few months—and after doing so, the player would attempt to continue his career.
I’m told this player feels the time is now for someone to take this step—despite homophobic remarks from San Francisco 49ers defensive back Chris Culliver and the controversy arising recently at the Indianapolis Scouting combine, when prospects were asked questions about their sexuality.
This player’s true concern, I’m told, is not the reaction inside an NFL locker room but outside of it. The player fears he will suffer serious harm from homophobic fans, and that is the only thing preventing him from coming out.
What Freeman says may be true. There may actually be less risk from inside the NFL than people would assume, and the truth of this is becoming more evident every day. Fujita has said,
I honestly think the players of the NFL have been ready for an openly gay player for quite some time now. Trust me, the coming out of a player would create much bigger waves outside the locker room than inside. The way I’ve seen the conversation around LGBT issues evolve, especially in the past few years, has been encouraging. Guys are more accepting than they used to be. Even those who raise personal objections to homosexuality, some of whom are good friends of mine, would still be able to coexist and accept a gay teammate.
Last week a brief was filed by Fujita and other supporters of gay rights with the Supreme Court in support of one of the two marriage equality cases currently before the justices. And as Freeman points out, the supporters of the brief are quite impressive. They include,
Giants co-owner Steve Tisch; Demaurice Smith, executive director of the NFLPA; Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo; Marie Tillman, co-founder of the Pat Tillman Foundation; Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Records; former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans; Browns center Alex Mack; and NFL players Connor Barwin, D’Qwell Jackson, Tom Crabtree, Eric Winston and Scott Shanle, among others.
What do you think?
Is the NFL ready for openly gay players?
Do you think an openly gay NFL player has more to fear from the fans than his teammates?
Photo: Anderson Mancini/Flickr
You obviously have never heard of Dave Kopay. He was an openly gay running back for the Washington Redskins in the early ’70’s, (the Over the Hill Gang). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kopay It is alleged (not proven), but he apparently had an affair with the great Redskin Tight End Jerry Smith, who, as a boy, I idolized. That was a team, they supported each other and they all had short comings and flaws. Billy Kilmer and Sonny Jurgensen, rivals for the quarterback position were often involved in some kind of alcohol related shenanigans, but they never spilled a word of it to the… Read more »
I think that the people within the NFL are more ready for it than people outside the league. There will be players that continue homophobic speech because that has how they have been carrying themselves. It will take time to modify their behavior. But, I expect fans will be the ones that are most appauling in their reaction to this. If the player drops a TD pass in a key spot or takes a dumb penalty or does anything that would upset fans, there will be plenty of idiots on Twitter and other forms of social media that will use… Read more »
I predict there would be intense scrutiny on openly gay players at first. They would be under enormous pressure to be squeaky clean, unassuming, out of the spotlight, and probably have to play even better than they would if they were (assumed to be) straight. In the short term, there will be taunting and jeers (Eagles fans even boo Santa Claus), but even then the gay player’s team fans will probably take a sort of backhanded pride in their new favorite player. Then, after a surprisingly short time, the hubbub would die down and he would be just one more… Read more »