This is likely going to be a short, and not so sweet, diary.
First it was the Chris Culliver incident, where second-string cornerback/homophobe made comments about how he didn't want out gay players on the team, and that any gay players should wait till 10 years after retiring to come out.
The 49ers were quick to disassociate themselves with Culliver's statements, and Culliver made the appropriate CYA move of apologizing through his PR person.
Case closed, right?
Not so fast.
Tonight, it's reported that the It Gets Better campaign has pulled the 49ers video after two members of the team who were on the video denied participation in the project. (Guess that falls under "I didn't say what you thought I said".)
Via Outsports.com:
Nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga and linebacker Ahmad Brooks both clearly appear in the video. But when approached by USA Today, the players denied their participation.
“I didn’t make any video,” Brooks said. “This is America and if someone wants to be gay, they can be gay. It’s their right. But I didn’t make any video.”
When the players were shown the video — with them in it — it got a little weird.
“Oh, that. It was an anti-bullying video, not a gay (rights) video,” he said.
When told that studies show that the majority of teens who are bullied are harassed over sexual identity issues, Brooks thought for a second.
“I know that. I know that,” he said. “Okay, you’re right and I’m wrong. Are you from one of those New York newspapers?”
I've been a San Francisco 49ers fan since before the Montana era. I got there after Brodie, but suffered through Steve DeBerg and other less than stellar players. I was proud of my team, and even more proud the day they were speaking out to support LGBT youth. But now that I find that some players evidently are putting their alleged "manhood" over dead kids, I'll be watching the Super Bowl on Sundays with mixed emotions and a heavy heart. I'll likely still root for the Niners (red and gold blood runs deep in this household), but if
Brendon Ayanbadejo makes an awesome play I'll be cheering that as well.
At least I've got the National Hockey League, where the You Can Play Project is met with support by players from the major leagues, through the minors and into college.