As if homophobia in college sports doesn’t run rampant enough. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhuskers football has just re-hired their former coach and known anti-gay activist Ron Brown to lead player development and work with the school’s Life Skills program for players.
In his new role at Nebraska, Brown will serve in a non-coaching role, mentoring Husker football student-athletes in numerous off-field development areas. Brown will work closely with Nebraska’s nationally renowned Life Skills program and assist in community outreach efforts of Husker football players and staff.
Brown claims that his Christian faith demands that he be anti-gay
In 2012, Brown testified before the Omaha City Council against a bill that would protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination saying that the Bible should be the law of the land. Some of the highlights from his testimony
As it says in scripture, homosexuality is a sin … The real question I have for you all is, ‘What does God say?’ … Ultimately, if you don’t have a relationship with [Jesus], and you don’t really have a Bible-believing mentality, really anything goes … Ultimately speaking, at the end of the day, it matters what God thinks most…
Brown went on to say that city council members would be judged by God and help accountable if they vote for the LGBT anti-discrimination bill. (The measure narrowly passed.)
Prior to returning to Nebraska, Brown had been an assistant coach with the infamously anti-gay “Christian” Liberty University which was founded by the notorious late anti-gay crusader and “Moral Majority” leader Jerry Falwell.
Riots erupted in the country of Georgia as protesters from the right-wing group Georgian March organized a demo demanding that footballer Guram Kashia be kicked off the national team for wearing a rainbow armband in support of gay rights.
The armband was in support of rights for the LGBT community and formed part of the country’s larger ‘Coming Out Day’ initiative.
In response, dozens of protesters gathered to march outside the Georgian Football Federation in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, shouting homophobic epithets, lighting flares and smoke bombs, and burned a rainbow flag.
Everyone has the right for freedom of expression,” Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said in a statement on Facebook on Monday.
“We should respect human rights and liberties. I stand with the unanimous support that sporting society has expressed toward Guram Kashia,” he added.
The AP AP reported that eight people were detained for resisting police and minor hooliganism, and they were due to appear in court on Wednesday.
Kashia told Dutch TV channel NOS he is proud to support equal rights and he has no intention to stop playing for Georgia.
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CNN News reports that Mike Pence’s staged PR stunt of the the incensed VP walking out on an Indianapolis Colts game after the 49ers kneeled during the National Anthem cost taxpayers over $242,000.
A Pence aide said the Indianapolis trip was planned for weeks because former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was being honored at the game; the Las Vegas leg, however, was put on the schedule in recent days, adding to the total expenditures.
“The Vice President was not going to miss the Las Vegas memorial prayer walk on Saturday, which he was honored to attend on behalf of President Trump,” another aide said in a statement to CNN. “If the Vice President did not go to Indiana for the Colts game, he would have flown back to D.C. for the evening — which means flying directly over Indiana. Instead, he made a shorter trip to Indiana for a game that was on his schedule for several weeks.
Pence’s trip on Air Force 2 — which doesn’t take into account logistics on the ground like Secret Service — cost about $242,500, according to an estimate from CNN published on Monday.
According to sources press pool reporters traveling with the VP were not allowed into the stadium and were told they would not be staying long. Adding more proof to the fact that it was a stunt – Pence was going to leave no matter what
Talk about disrespect. Nothing is more disrespectful than wasting American tax dollars on purpose.
With the 2015 Superbowl scheduled to take place in Glendale, Arizona the NFL has taken a keen interest in what the next move is going to be by Governor Jan Brewer and if she is going to sign the Jim Crow-esque “We Don’t Serve The Gays” bill into law. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, today made an official statement today letting Brewer know that they are watching.
“Our policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard. We are following the issue in Arizona and will continue to do so should the bill be signed into law, but will decline further comment at this time.”
This wouldn’t be the first time that Arizona could have trouble with the NFL and lose its hosting of a Superbowl.
Super Bowl XXVII was originally scheduled to be played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, the home of the Phoenix Cardinals. However, a controversy over the state’s recognition of a newly created federal holiday changed things.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a national holiday honoring African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1986, the first year that the holiday was observed, Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, had issued an executive order creating the holiday after the state legislature voted against it. Babbitt’s successor, Republican Evan Mecham, rescinded the order on the grounds that Babbitt did not have the authority to issue such an order and Arizona ceased to observe MLK Day for the time being. Mecham also made his displeasure for the holiday widely known, saying that King did not deserve a holiday and that black supporters of the law should have been more concerned about getting jobs. In response, Dr. King’s widow Coretta Scott King and musician Stevie Wonder spearheaded a complete entertainment and convention boycott of Arizona. Blacks across the nation supported the boycott. In 1989, after Mecham had been removed from office the state legislature did approve the holiday but opposition to it forced the holiday to be put on the November election ballot in 1990
Earlier that year, in March, the NFL had its annual meeting in Orlando and one of the items on its agenda was to determine a host city for Super Bowl XXVII. Among the cities being considered was Tempe, and Arizona civil rights activist Art Mobley was sent to the meeting to make sure that the Arizona ballot initiative was a talking point at the discussion. The vote was conducted and Tempe was awarded the game, but committee chairman and Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman warned that if the MLK Day ballot initiative went against adoption of the holiday, the NFL would not hesitate to pull the game from Arizona and move it somewhere else. The fact that the majority of NFL players were African-American was a big factor into this threat, as many of them felt uncomfortable of having the Super Bowl in a state that didn’t honor a national holiday honor Martin Luther King, Jr.
The opposition to the holiday in Arizona was large, however, and the voters defeated the law at the polls. The NFL responded by making good on its threat to remove the Super Bowl from Tempe and held another vote, with Pasadena was chosen as the site for the first time since Super Bowl XXI was played there six years earlier. Meanwhile, after having lost out on millions of dollars in revenue from the boycott of the state by entertainers and the loss of the Super Bowl. Arizona voters finally approved the MLK Day holiday in the 1992 elections and the NFL responded by awarding Tempe Super Bowl XXX at their 1993 meeting.
“I vehemently deny today’s allegations made by Chris Kluwe. I want to be clear that I do not tolerate discrimination of any type and am respectful of all individuals. I personally have gay family members who I love and support just as I do any family member. The primary reason I entered coaching was to affect people in a positive way. As a coach, I have always created an accepting environment for my players, including Chris, and have looked to support them both on and off the field. The comments today have not only attacked my character and insulted my professionalism, but they have also impacted my family. While my career focus is to be a great professional football coach, my number one priority has always been to be a protective husband and father to my wife and children. I will continue to work hard for the Minnesota Vikings, the Wilf family and all of our loyal fans.” – Vikings special teams coach Mike Preifer, in a statement published by NBC Sports.
When a bigot says he “loves” and “supports” a gay family member, he means he “ministers the truth of Jesus to” (i.e. viciously condemns) that gay family member and tries to force the gay family member into an “ex gay” conversion program. That’s what Christian bigots mean by “love” and “support.”
In other news it its been discovered that Mike Preifer’s “gay family member” is also Sarah Palin’s “gay best friend”. Harvey Preifer is reported to be 6 feet tall and a rabbit.
“Hello. My name is Chris Kluwe, and for eight years I was the punter for the Minnesota Vikings. In May 2013, the Vikings released me from the team. At the time, quite a few people asked me if I thought it was because of my recent activism for same-sex marriage rights, and I was very careful in how I answered the question. My answer, verbatim, was always, ‘I honestly don’t know, because I’m not in those meetings with the coaches and administrative people.’ This is a true answer. I honestly don’t know if my activism was the reason I got fired. However, I’m pretty confident it was. [snip]
“It’s my belief, based on everything that happened over the course of 2012, that I was fired by Mike Priefer, a bigot who didn’t agree with the cause I was working for, and two cowards, Leslie Frazier and Rick Spielman, both of whom knew I was a good punter and would remain a good punter for the foreseeable future, as my numbers over my eight-year career had shown, but who lacked the fortitude to disagree with Mike Priefer on a touchy subject matter. (Frazier was fired on Monday, at the conclusion of a 5-10-1 season.) [snip]
[One time] As we sat down in our chairs, Mike Priefer, in one of the meanest voices I can ever recall hearing, said: “We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.” The room grew intensely quiet, and none of the players said a word for the rest of the meeting. The atmosphere was decidedly tense. I had never had an interaction that hostile with any of my teammates on this issue—some didn’t agree with me, but our conversations were always civil and respectful. Afterward, several told me that what Mike Priefer had said was “messed up.”
One of the main coaching points I’ve heard throughout my entire life is, ‘How you respond to difficult situations defines your character,’ and I think it’s a good saying. I also think it applies to more than just the players.” – Chris Kluwe, (Do yourself a favor and read the whole posting over at Deadspin
Knuckle-dragging bigotry in the NFL? Now there’s a shocker.
I absolutely believe Chris. He’s handled this whole thing with class and grace. No malice, despite everything they were putting him through with the Vikings. He’s a good man and an excellent ally to have on your side and I thank him.
Former Florida quarterback, Heisman winner, Focus on the Family member and uber-christian Tim Tebow, has been hired as a college football analyst for the SEC Network launching in August 2014. Through a multi-year agreement, Tebow’s primary role will be as an analyst for SEC Nation, the network’s traveling pregame show that will originate from a different SEC campus each week beginning August 28, 2014. In the months leading up to launch and after, he will contribute to a variety of ESPN platforms including SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, and the network’s Heisman Trophy coverage, offering in-depth perspective as a legendary Southeastern Conference player.
Timmy will debut on January 6th for the BCS National Championship game.
I guess after the ESPN stint ends the next step will be a straight to the DVD gay porn bargain bin release of a Tim Tebow vs Ryan Lochte naked hot oil wrestling match. Which would be perfect for both of them.
You can watch Tim Tebow’s screen test for ESPN below: Bwahahahaha!
How often do you think about what attracts you to another person? Better yet does what attract you to someone affect how you treat others? What about how you view people that have relationships with different groups? These are questions I ask and write about a lot because I feel that once we truly understand what these questions mean along with all that encompasses them the closer we are to being able to truly have meaningful dialogue in recognizing if there are issues involving a prejudice towards a group of people.
It’s a mouthful while also being the opening to a very long-winded rant that involves being gay, being an African American and loving football but they all seem to relate to each other in my rambling thoughts. And I’ll try to show how sports are a lot like life in how we communicate with each other in our relationships. Improve your skills by playing at 918kiss the best online casino games.
You see the reason I’m on this topic again is because today, while watching the Titans game, I received a message from a so called friend who just casually wanted to chat and catch up (aka gossip). This guy loves to talk about who’s hot and who he’d like to date (and hell I love doing that too) but the Titans are my home team that I root for even when their defensive line is abysmal and offense is all over the place. So I wanted to watch (also scream at my TV when they’re doing great or awful or both) without any distractions.
But my friend is persistent and somewhat of an inquisitor of the human condition (or maybe I’m a pushover). Anyway, I yield on watching the game to focus on what he’s saying. He then asks why I don’t like black men (…what). Naturally the question both confused and angered me at the same time because for one it was random and came completely out of left field and secondly because I always know how conversations like this go. Someone will say something completely untrue and downright dumb followed by me very bluntly stating that their opinion is not only false but also dated.
They will then quickly try to recover by providing some “empirical evidence” to support their lofty opinion. But I will then proceed to pass over any reductive laundry list of examples to addressing why the question itself is out of bounds leaving them stumped and angry because they realize that the way they asked the question was insensitive and more than likely prejudiced.
And wouldn’t you know it the situation went exactly like I predicted it would. He went on saying that it bothers him when people don’t date their own race while I pointed out that sounds like his problem not mine. But I couldn’t leave it there and had to expand on it and figure out what this dated opinion came from so I asked for clarification.
He couldn’t think of a way to explain his point without making it sound worse so he then talked about tastes are innate also leading him to the conclusion that sexuality is concrete with no fluidity meaning he believes there’s no such thing as bisexual men. So he choose to go all in on his ridiculous small minded opinions.
If you follow football, or rather any sport, this conversation and ones like this are a lot like the game. Two opponents standing their ground making large plays to score points and win. Either opponent can fumble the ball (or the point they were trying to make). Either opponent can intercept the ball (conversation) to score another point (in support of their opinion). The time runs out and the person who’s made enough right points wins the game (argument/debate).
So at this point of the conversation it should be enough when I say that you know what? Even though the majority of men I’ve dated have been Caucasian that I’ve not only attracted to but have also had romantic relationships with every race and a diverse amount of a different ethnicity. That yes I am aware of race and color and ethnicity and aware of the differences and while I acknowledge those differences it does not inhibit arousal or sexual attraction.
But it doesn’t. Saying that will only add to his warped way of thinking. My explanations or reasoning would only exacerbate whatever closed minded opinion someone else is voicing while making me doubt how aware I am of these cultural aspects when dating.
If I had brought up how at one time I was foolish enough to believe that the societal norms, including sticking to your race, did not extend to the gay community when in fact in some settings it is amplified. Maybe that is due to not wanting to stick out more in society by engaging in an interracial relationship on top of a gay relationship. In my experience this is more true here in the south.
And some may say the same can be said about acceptance of the gay community by the African American community but that too is subjective. Fair points but in this setting it would’ve come off as trying to give all the responsibility on society when ultimately that decision will always be mine and mine alone, no matter the lifetime of influences.
Why do we even care that they have an opinion on who we should do/be/say/date/have sex with/love/marry could’ve been another point to win this argument. I could have expanded on how sexuality is a breathing changing entity of our being and as our tastes change so may how we define our sexual identity. Yet talking about it will always seem like defensive bitterness and frustration. And it is that, but not for the reasons some may think.
Because it’s not for your pity. Never for that so you can keep it or throw it away or better yet not pity people because its degrading and treats someone like they’re subhuman. But it’s important because we do need to know how and why people are drawn to each other. It helps us in a very delicate, subtle way understand where our negative beliefs began. While we are not initially hate and attraction are innate how we perceive them is learned. But bring that up still would not have proven my point.
Do you see now how conversations like this become a game? You on defense trying to make as many points to defend your opinion and your pride before the conversation ends. There’s interruptions (interceptions), Hell sometimes there’s even snarling. The only thing that really sets it apart is that there’s no gentle slap on the ass at the end.
The only time you should be concerned with who someone dates or what their dating preferences are is when they stereotype or categorize an entire group and completely exclude them from based on that backwards opinion. Like Grindr profiles that have “no chicken (people of African Decent) rice (Asian) but spice (Hispanic nonblack) is alright”. Those are the “it’s just a preference” people you should direct these conversations towards. I am not one of those people. But again that would give a point to him because it would appear that I may subconsciously do the same thing as the inept men that have racist dating profiles.
The whole conversation made me defensive as it always does because I never want to be made to feel like I have some quota to fill and should have to seek out other gay African American man in order for it to “look right”. And I don’t want anyone questioning the legitimacy of bisexuality. But either consciously or subconsciously that’ll be what runs through people’s mind for a split second when they don’t understand. That logic would mean that I question whether the next time I’m attracted to another African American man is that guilt or actual physical arousal.
This should be entertaining to the outside observer and the victor afterwards but conversations like this don’t turn out that way. It’s life. Because even though I won the argument I don’t feel like a winner. Especially when this exhausting exercise in logic always leaves you feeling on guard for the decisions you make solely based on your race or sexuality or both. Then you hopefully reach the moment of asking yourself why the opinions of others matter in what a person sees in a race or sexual orientation.
In the end I didn’t use the points that I knew both from experience and studying human behavior meant that instead of answering a question we have to ask more questions. Ask why it feels right to you when two people of the same race are together and uneasy when it’s two different races together. Ask yourself why you need to define what someone else’s sexuality is for them and why that bothers you when it’s different from your beliefs.
My point is that it’s circular and reductive and repetitive and you will again have to go out on the field and be ready to defend your position every single time you’re challenged if you go into conversations like this with that mindset. And the thought of having to repeat the same plays can at times be daunting leading up to confusion and doubt and uncertainty that anything was accomplished at all.
All puns intended when we take on this dynamic in discussing race or sexuality it sets up an us vs them mentality rather than exploring why some have these inaccurate convoluted beliefs. And even when they are right in questioning a person exhibiting self hating tendencies or homophobia (ie not dating one’s own race or trying to define someone else’s sexuality) we have to ask what lead them to see this and open the dialogue even more.
So sports can often reflect the strategies we partake in when we have these types of conversations. Like how some people need to fight in a relationship to prove they’re right just for the sake of argument because it gives them power rather than actually having a legitimate point. Now while I’m not saying life is a game but the way that we interact and choose to have these conversations do take on these dynamics.
Even though this form of communication is the way we are taught to settle debates it is not the way we should be discussing race or sexuality. We need to examine where these questions come from before answering them because when people have questions like my friend that is where he’ll find the answers.
And next time, let me enjoy the damn game in peace.
Appearing on HuffPost Live Superbowl Champion and football legend Broadway Joe Namath told the interviewer that while he says he doesn’t know which of his former teammates were gay, he did have a message for those who might be anti-gay:
“I have friends that are gay. I’ve worked in theater, I’ve been in art, you know, for some time. We work shoulder to shoulder. There’s a lot of love from me to them, too. That’s life, you know. And if you’ve got a hangup about it, I hope you can get over it because it’s real.”
