Pro athletes have been making their views on a wide range of social and political issues known since . . . well, since there have been pro athletes. They are high-profile public figures and alot of kids look up to them. Maybe not for all the right reasons, but the kids still pay attention to what the pros have to say about things. Like eating breakfast. Like getting exercise.
Adults, too, take notice of what these folks have to say. In fact, there's a certain politician who has taken particular notice of what one NFL player had to say on an issue and he's not at all happy with what he heard the athlete say. In fact, he has gone to the trouble (at taxpayer expense, of course) to compose a letter to the player's employer and ask that this player be sanctioned for what he had to say.
Really? Yes, really.
I'll meet you below the Fleur de Kos.
In this corner, standing 6' 1" tall and weighing in at a very lean 225 lbs., playing in the position of Linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens and speaking out in support of marriage Equality, we have Brendon Ayanbadejo.
And in this corner, standing chest-deep in a puddle of shame and weighing heavily on the minds of his constituents, playing at being a state legislator in Maryland and supposedly representing the Democratic party, we have Emmett C. Burns, Jr.
Mr. Ayanbadejo has been speaking out publicly on the issue of gay marriage. In fact, he made this YouTube video titled, "Brendon Ayanbadejo is a Marylander for Marriage Equality" which was posted almost a year ago. On this issue, he has donated his time, written letters, and even donated a pair of his own tickets to a fundraiser to benefit the group Marylanders for Marriage Equality. It seems that Mr. Ayanbadejo has been "up to no good" on this issue for a long time.
Only lately have his activities been noticed by one Emmett C. Burns, Jr. And Mr. Burns couldn't be more unhappy about Mr. Ayanbadejo's activities on behalf of our GLBTQ brothers and sisters. In fact, according to this article in Yahoo News, Mr. Burns went so far as to author a letter to Baltimore Ravens owner Steven Bisciotti on official Maryland House of Delegates letterhead eviscerating the player and calling for the owner to sanction his employee and take steps necessary to keep him from doing more of it.
You gotta read the article. You'll laugh, you'll be enraged, you'll enjoy the livin' shit outta this piece. Burns' letter is quoted extensively - if not in its entirety - in this article. PLEASE READ IT!
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For those of you who would like to express yourselves to Mr. Emmett C. Burns, Jr., I have this publicly-available information (from this government website) for you to use:
EMMETT C. BURNS, JR.
Democrat, District 10, Baltimore County
House Office Building, Room 309
6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3352, (301) 858-3352
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3352 (toll free)
e-mail: emmett.burns@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3132, (301) 858-3132
3600 Oak Ave., Baltimore, MD 21207
(410) 944-5936; fax: (410) 944-5937
Please note that Mr. Bruns' educational background is also on this site and it bears noting how this has probably helped to form his repulsive opinion on the issue.
For those of you who wish to express yourselves to Mr. Ayanbadejo, I have only this information:
Mr. Brendon Ayanbadejo
c/o The Baltimore Ravens
M&T Bank Stadium
1101 Russell Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 261-RAVE (7283)
contactus@ravens.nfl.net
Thank you for your kind attention.
Celtic Merlin
Along with my wife, standing shoulder-to-shoulder WITH my GLBTQ brothers and sisters on the issue of equal rights.