College Football Player Kicked Off Team After He Outs Himself During a Game

IrisM · Sep 11, 2012

College Football Player Kicked Off Team After He Outs Himself During a Game

College Football Player Kicked Off Team After He Outs Himself During a Game | Slog

“I think it’s a transformational moment and seismic shift to see so many folks in the world of sports stepping up and speaking out in support of equality and fairness,” gay marriage advocate Brian Ellner told the New York Times this weekend. “The world has changed.”

Ellner was reacting to the pro-marriage-equality stances taken by two professional football players. Brendon Ayanbadejo of the Baltimore Ravens has been a vocal supporter of marriage equality for years. But an open letter written by Chris Kluwe of the Minnesota Vikings defending Ayanbadejo against an attack from a Maryland state legislator appeared on Deadspin on Friday and quickly went viral. Ellner was quoted in a New York Times piece that ran on Saturday headlined “Players’ Support of Gay Marriage Alters N.F.L. Image.”

Jamie Kuntz was sitting at his mother’s house in Dickinson, North Dakota, when he read Kluwe’s letter. Kuntz is eighteen years old and has been playing football since he was eleven.

“I thought it was a real step forward,” Kuntz said of Kluwe. “Everyone feels that in football everyone is going to be completely uncomfortable with gay people. But people who play football are like normal people. They don’t care, so long as you can get the job done. Not all people in football are homophobic.”

Kuntz’s reaction startled me. Four days before Kluwe's letter blew up the Internet Kuntz was kicked off his college football team after he clumsily outed himself to his teammates and coaching staff.
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Rakkaus · Sep 11, 2012

The age difference is a little weird to me (an 18-year-old with a 65-year-old boyfriend), but this is still obviously unacceptable and homophobic. If he were kissing a girlfriend, nobody would have given it a second thought.

Pret Allez · Sep 11, 2012

Well, I think there are important efforts being made to change football, but it still has a sexist, homophobic culture right now. I really loved the letter and the original stories. Sorry to see this has happened.

Also, what the coach said was a lie. He does care what people do in their personal lives.

College Football Player Kicked Off Team After He Outs Himself During a Game

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