The “NFL gay marriage” story is making headlines in San Francisco.
The headline in Saturday’s Chronicle read, “2 NFL players speak out for gay marriage.”
The two NFL football players who came out in support of gay marriage are Brendon Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe. The pro players have long advocated gay rights and now they are calling for the U. S. Supreme Court to strike down California’s gay marriage ban, Prop 8.
Brendon Ayanbadejo is a linebacker for the Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens Chris Kluwe is a punter for the Minnesota Vikings.
"For far too long, professional sports have been a bastion of bigotry, intolerance and small-minded prejudice toward sexual orientation, just as they had been to racial differences decades earlier," lawyers for Brendon Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe wrote Thursday in a filing to the court. (Photos of the players are posted above.)
The tide seems to be turning in support of gay marriage rights in California. The NFL gay marriage support seems to reflect that sentiment although to a lesser degree. As previously reported, Clint Eastwood is among the prominent Republicans who are voicing their support for gay marriage. That story along with the latest gay marriage poll is here.
But as the Chronicle points out, not a single male pro athlete in a major support has come out as gay. You may recall the San Francisco 49ers touched off a firestorm when one of the players made antigay remarks before the Super Bowl. That story is here.
What do you think of these two NFL players coming forward to support gay marriage? Do you think that more players should follow? What about the players who may oppose gay marriage? Please leave your comments below.
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