NFL gay marriage support is going after two NFL players publicly voiced their support for the Supreme Court to overturn California’s Proposition 8 gay marriage ban. Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and Baltimore Ravens running back Brendon Ayanbadejo have added their names to a amicus curiae brief that was recently filed with the Supreme Court.
The two players, who have been outspoken about their support for gay marriage are joining a chorus of well known personalities who are all lining up against Prop 8. Clint Eastwood, perhaps most recently famous for arguing with an empty chair at last year Republican National Convention has added his support as well.
Gay marriage support has been growing in middle America as well. More state legislatures have adopted provisions that would allow same sex couples to wed, with one of the latest being Illinois . Now Fox Sports is reporting that Kluwe and Ayanbadejo have joined the fight because they believe that a ruling against Proposition 8 would be a huge win in the fight for equal rights for same sex couples.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that in the brief, the two strike a strident tone against gay marriage bans saying:
“For far too long, professional sports have been a bastion of bigotry, intolerance and small-minded prejudice toward sexual orientation, just as they had been to racial differences decades earlier,”
The pair say that NFL gay marriage support is finally starting to grow and that the outright dislike of gays in locker rooms is starting to change. Their brief also says that while the mood is changing, the court will help to spur it along.
Not one professional athlete has ever come out as gay while still playing in their respective leagues. Some athletes have come out after their playing days are over, but it stands to reason that still others remain “in the closet.”
The two players’ brief was one of 50 that was filed with the Supreme Court as it gears up to hear the case.
Do you think NFL gay marriage support is really growing?
