Sam
This guy is the truth. Just keeping it real. Addressing the realities of the situation. The media definitely manipulates things to make a better story out of it. Hell I do that all the time. According to the WP via NB:
“I really like ESPN. They do a great job. But like once every two or three months, they bring all these people on there, and they tell me how me and my team are going to respond to a gay guy.
“First of all, every player has played with gay guys. It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say: ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.”
He also spoke on how people get predisposed on the who “would you feel weird showering with a gay guy in the locker room?” question. Do professional athletes even shower communally? I get the feeling with all the money those organizations have they could maybe afford a more legit set up than a high school gym locker room.
“A guy is never going to put himself in that situation in a professional locker room. It never crossed my mind, and I never felt any different about the guy.”
“They’re not going to do anything in the locker room. Doesn’t work like that.”
“Any professional athlete who gets on TV or radio and says he never played with a gay guy is a stone-freakin’ idiot. I would even say the same thing in college. Every college player, every pro player in any sport has probably played with a gay person.”
“First of all, society discriminates against gay people. They always try to make it like jocks discriminate against gay people. I’ve been a big proponent of gay marriage for a long time, because as a black person, I can’t be in for any form of discrimination at all.”
“We gossiped behind each other’s back before; I’ll be the first to admit that. The first people who whine and complain is them Bible-thumpers, who are supposed to be non-judgmental, who rail against them.[…] I don’t worry about what other people do.”
