The NFL combine is a time for NFL scouts and executives to meet and get to know players before drafting them, but this year things took a strange turn due to the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax story, as teams decided to ask a number of players about their sexuality.
According to ESPN.com, Colorado tight end Nick Kasa spoke to ESPN Radio about the questions he was asked at the combine, including about his sexual orientation, which has prompted the NFL to investigate the claims. Some teams have asked controversial questions in the past of players, including when the Miami Dolphins asked wideout Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute.
"[Teams] ask you like, 'Do you have a girlfriend?' 'Are you married?' 'Do you like girls?' " Kasa said in the radio interview. "Those kinds of things, and you know it was just kind of weird. But they would ask you with a straight face, and it's a pretty weird experience altogether."
The NFL released a statement and said that "teams are expected to follow applicable federal, state and local employment laws."
According to Yahoo Sports, NBC Sports' Mike Florio said on Monday that NFL teams originally wanted to know about Manti Te'o and his sexual orientation after the girlfriend hoax scandal. While the NFL has said they do not want teams to inquire about that, it is not illegal for some NFL teams to do so based on state laws.
According to Yahoo, 13 of 32 NFL franchises are not allowed to ask by law about sexual orientation, while the rest are permitted since those laws are not government by federal legislation yet.
"No, we stayed away," one NFL executive told Yahoo at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "We didn't care, really. We just wanted to get the story straight."
Some teams that are allowed to ask by state law include the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys, while the New York Giants, San Francisco 40ers, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens among others are allowed.
"It is league policy to neither consider nor inquire about sexual orientation in the hiring process. In addition, there are specific protections in our collective bargaining agreement with the players that prohibit discrimination against any player, including on the basis of sexual orientation," the league said. "We will look into the report on the questioning of Nick Kasa at the scouting combine. Any team or employee that inquires about impermissible subjects or makes an employment decision based on such factors is subject to league discipline," the league said.
NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith spoke about the issues in a statement Tuesday to USA Today Sports.
"I know that the NFL agrees that these types of questions violate the law, our CBA and player rights," Smith said. "I hope that they will seek out information as to what teams have engaged in this type of discrimination and we should then discuss appropriate discipline."
