It’s been a watershed moment in history for gays and lesbians in the world of sports, as straight NFL stars Brendon Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe have been fighting for both marriage equality and equality for gays in the world of pro sports. But, like Chris Culliver before him, one athlete is none too pleased with the idea of having gay athletes in the league.
Last week, former 49er star Kwame Harris spoke out about his life as a closeted pro football player and urged other closeted individuals, especially athletes, to come out.
However, Seattle Seahawks star Chris Clemons recently responded to rumors that there’s a gay NFL star who’s considering coming out and claimed that such a move would be “selfish.”
“Who on Gods earth is this person saying he’s coming out of the closet in the NFL?” tweeted Clemons.
Clemons then questioned why a football player wouldn’t come out before entering the NFL.
One of Clemons followers then asked him if he has a problem with gay athletes or with them waiting to come out in the NFL.
When another follower accused Clemons of being homophobic, the Seahawks star denied having any problem with gay people.
Sure, one could argue that making one’s self stand out from the rest of his/her team in order to gain fame is “selfish.” However, the only thing that seems selfish in this case is asking another teammate to sacrifice his dignity and human right to be himself, both on and off the field, and be an inspiration to others in his community. Clemons may claim to be all about maintaining the team, unfortunately, he’s forgotten the golden rule of solidarity: An injury to one is an injury to all. A team that denies freedom to its gay players is an injured team, in more ways than one.
Fortunately, there isn’t solidarity in Clemons’ closed-minded way of thinking. Check out some athletes who support gays in sports below. – nicholas robinson
