Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo have been the two most outspoken supporters of gay marriage in the NFL and the players took another step in that direction on Thursday, filing an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court.
According to Deadspin.com, the two players filed the brief in regards to a case that is going in from of the Supreme Court that supports that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. The case in question is Hollignsworth v Perry, which is going before the U.S. Supreme Court to bring marriage equality back to California.
The two players have both come out in support of gay marriage, with Kluwe writing a post to Deadspin months ago in response to a politician that tried to silence Ayanbadejo after he came out in support of gay marriage. Ayanbadejo was also in the spotlight at the Super Bowl after 49ers player Chris Culliver said that a gay player would not be accepted in the locker room.
Ayanbadejo and Kluwe have both been in PSA's about the issue and have called out for more players to support the LGBT community.
The second-year veteran was doing an interview with comedian Artie Lange, who said he was doing a "goofy interview and asking him all sorts of stupid questions" when he asked the cornerback "whether there is any gay guy on the 49ers."
"I don't do the gay guys. I don't do that," Culliver told Lange, who had asked the cornerback if he ever had been approached by a homosexual player. We ain't got no gay people on the team. They gotta get up out here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff. ... Nah, can't be ... in the locker room, man."
HERE is an excerpt from the brief:
"We are just beginning to see progress with regard to the issue of sexual orientation. No active athlete in any of the major male sports has come out, as professional athletes themselves feel the impact of homophobia, like soccer pro (footballer) Robbie Rogers, who only came out recently as he retired from the sport."
"Yet many professional athletes are speaking up-both to clear the way for any teammates who may be gay and closeted, and from an understandingof how even seemingly minor acts by professional athletes can reverberate with the public. Tolerance is becoming the message in locker rooms and from teams that recognize they cannot countenance use of pointless slurs like "faggot," "queer," and "gay." Regardless the intent with which those terms are spoken, they classify a group and particular people as synonymous with the lesser, and professional athletes are beginning to understand that."
Ayanbadejo has been advocating for gay rights for some time and things got widespread attention earlier this season, when Maryland State Delegate Emmett C. Burns, Jr. wrote a letter in to Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, saying that Bisciotti "take the necessary action ... to inhibit such expressions from your employee." Burns' letter went on to state that, "I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing." Burns' letter went on to state that, "I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing."
Following the incident with Burns, Vikings punter Chris Kluwe wrote a letter to the official, which was published on the website Deadspin. After Burns asked the owner of the Ravens to silence Ayanbadejo due to his views on the subject, Kluwe took Deadspin and wrote a piece for that served as an open letter to Burns, writing: "I find it inconceivable that you are an elected official of Maryland's state government. Your vitriolic hatred and bigotry make me ashamed and disgusted to think that you are in any way responsible for shaping policy at any level."
Kluwe later appeared on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and spoke with host Stephen Colbert about his views on various issues, including gay marriage and equality.
During the interview with Colbert, Kluwe said that he believed Burns was wrong to try and stifle someone's free speech and added that he believes "that people are people and deserve to be treated the same as everyone else."
CLICK here for a full view and PHOTO of the brief from Deadpsin.com.
