Pete Olsen at
Wide Rights finds something excellent in the new NFL collective bargaining agreement:
The language from the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement Article VII, Player Security, reads :
Section 1. No Discrimination: There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA because of race, religion, national origin or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA.
The new language in the 2011 CBA, now moved to Article 49, reads:
Section 1. No Discrimination: There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA.
Amanda Terkel reports:
"We certainly believe, speaking for the Players Association, that we have a tremendous social and cultural impact. We definitely understand the effect that we have on society and culture, and we feel we have a responsibility to have very high standards. With something like discrimination of any kind, we just want to make sure we are a symbol for good," said George Atallah, spokesman for the NFLPA.
Nobody involved in the negotiations seems to be willing to say exactly who called for sexual orientation to be added, or what the discussion around it was, but observers agree it's noteworthy that Ted Olson and David Boies, whose names you might recall from the fight to overturn California's Proposition 8, were both involved in the negotiations, with Olson representing the players and Boies the owners.
But whoever put it there, both the owners and the players signed on to the contract, paving the way for a football player, now or in the future, to come out as gay while still an active player (three former players have come out after their NFL careers were over). And that is an advance to celebrate in our culture.