Homophobia at Halftime

Posted by on Jan 31, 2013 in Passion | 2 comments

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If you’re not one to keep up on sports (like me), you probably don’t know this man pictured above. I didn’t know who he was either until some comments he made earlier this week started making headlines. This man is Chris Culliver and he is a player for the San Francisco 49ers. Instead of gearing up for the Superbowl on Sunday, Mr. Culliver has brought it upon himself to share his thoughts on homosexuality with the world. Here’s what he had to say:

I don’t do the gay guys man. I don’t do that. No, we don’t got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can’t be with that sweet stuff. Nah…can’t be…in the locker room man. Nah.

In addition to a clear lack of respect for grammar, it seems Mr. Culliver has no problem expressing his homophobia in public. If you look at the facts, there has never been an openly gay NFL player in the history of the league. Now, the NFL was founded in 1920, so does that mean that in more than 90 years there have been no gay football players on any of the NFL teams? Of course not. I definitely think that attitudes lie Chris Culliver’s contribute to the lack of openly gay players. If I was a gay football player I probably wouldn’t come out to my team for fear of persecution or violence.

It’s sad that there may be players who are in the NFL or aspiring to play football as a career who can’t fully embrace who they are for fear of people like Culliver. Homophobia in sports is such a big issue and it’s one that tends to be overlooked. As of now Chris Culliver has offered a half-assed apology in which he claims that the comments he made were, “a reflection of thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel” As if that makes any sense, it’s also a bold-faced lie. His apology is just to save face and doesn’t even touch on the more severe issue at hand. That there is a culture of homophobia within sports and it is not only accepted but encouraged. 

2 Comments

  1. This is a ridiculous statement. I am honestly angered by the fact that people have such close-minded ignorance. But my opinion also applies to what we’re doing in class. I think this statement is ignorant and stupid. I think this player should be hit on the head with my purse! But there are obvious reasons behind his belief that there should be no gay NFL players. Perhaps this man actually wanted to comment on the fact that men are often ostracized for being gay and this is why there are no openly gay men in the NFL, but his statement came out garbled and inarticulate. Our society does not promote deliberation in a way that he could articulate his opinions effectively, and I could not accept his opinions or change my opinions based on his contribution to the discussion of gay men. Instead, I think that this man is just ignorant. I am not sure how we can change our society deliberation in common conversations in a way where we can be all open to others opinions (even ones I do not agree with).

  2. Well first, let me say something intelligent: what you wrote in paragraph three reminds me about what we just talked about in class – the spiral of silence. After Culliver making those cruel comments about homosexuals, I doubt a homosexual football player would come out for fear of being harassed by players such as Culliver. I think it is interesting that there has never been an openly gay NFL player. I guess they expect to be ridiculed, since the sport they are playing is considered to be such a manly sport. You know, a player can be absolutely amazing, but as soon as word gets out that he is gay, fans may turn against him. It isn’t right, but I can certainly see it happening thanks to men like Culliver. He should be embarrassed for being so arrogant – and having terrible grammar.

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