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Players’ Support of Gay Marriage Alters N.F.L. Image
New York Times ^ | Sep 8 2012 | Adam Himmelsbach

Posted on 09/09/2012 6:01:55 AM PDT by scottjewell

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has been a consistent supporter of legalizing same-sex marriage. In 2011, he filmed his own video backing this November’s ballot initiative in Maryland and posted it on YouTube, and he recently donated Ravens tickets to a Marylanders for Marriage Equality fund-raiser.

of Emmett C. Burns Jr., a Maryland state delegate who opposes same-sex marriage. On Aug. 29, Burns sent a letter to Steve Bisciotti, the Ravens’ owner, urging him to “inhibit such expressions from your employee and that he be ordered to cease and desist such injurious actions.”

Burns’s letter elicited an aggressive, searing response from another N.F.L. player, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, who said he could not sleep after reading the letter Thursday night because he was too infuriated. So he wrote a profanity-laced response to Burns and submitted it to Deadspin.com.

“Your vitriolic hatred and bigotry make me ashamed and disgusted to think that you are in any way responsible for shaping policy at any level,” Kluwe wrote, adding later: “Why do you hate the fact that other people want a chance to live their lives and be happy, even though they may believe in something different than you, or act different than you? How does gay marriage, in any way, shape or form, affect your life?”

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: athletes; homosexualagenda; intimidation; nfl; punter; ravens
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To: scottjewell
Good thing Reggie White isn't around to see this kind of sh!t unfold in the NFL.

It's also interesting to see Michael Strahan weigh in on this issue. No surprise to see where he comes down on this "gay marriage" issue, considering his own marital, uh, history. He went through a very acrimonious, highly publicized divorce (from his second wife) a few years ago, and rumor has it that he's now engaged to Eddie Murphy's ex-wife. He probably needs the Today show gig just to make his alimony and child support payments.

41 posted on 09/09/2012 8:35:32 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested.")
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To: Alberta's Child

No doubt!


42 posted on 09/09/2012 8:36:46 AM PDT by scottjewell
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To: momtothree; savagesusie; Tainan

You misunderstood my question to Tainan, who replied to me via FReepmail rather than in the open forum thread. I thought Tainan was accusing some on FR of bigotry. You might want to reread my post. I’m sorry if I didn’t phrase it more clearly. Thanks.


43 posted on 09/09/2012 8:47:24 AM PDT by arasina (So there.)
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To: arasina

Then I apologize for my rant. I thought you were saying that FR would allow people to openly support gay marriage (and by not allowing it, they would be bigots). My bad and I apologize. Hugs, Mom


44 posted on 09/09/2012 8:52:30 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: momtothree

We’re on the same page. :-)


45 posted on 09/09/2012 8:59:40 AM PDT by arasina (So there.)
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To: montag813
A journeyman linebacker and a punter. WOW!

Woohoo! Two thnaps and a thircle.

46 posted on 09/09/2012 9:28:24 AM PDT by VRW Conspirator (We were the tea party before there was a tea party. - Jim Robinson)
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To: scottjewell

Ooo, ooo! They gonna play in the Homo Bowl. And when they’re all hot and sweaty after a game, they have a group shower and then a team hot-tubbing. Then their bestest fans can give them massages for their achy muscles.

I guess steroids do have long term side effects.


47 posted on 09/09/2012 9:31:18 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (DIY Bumper Sticker: "THREE TIMES,/ DEMOCRATS/ REJECTED GOD")
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To: scottjewell

Methinks they doth protest too much.


48 posted on 09/09/2012 9:32:32 AM PDT by dfwgator (I'm voting for Ryan and that other guy.)
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To: VRW Conspirator

"Two snaps and your backfield in motion."

49 posted on 09/09/2012 9:38:17 AM PDT by dfwgator (I'm voting for Ryan and that other guy.)
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To: dfwgator

That they do.


50 posted on 09/09/2012 9:40:10 AM PDT by scottjewell
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To: Libloather

Yes, and there is already a huge pro-LGBT agenda being taught within public schools, from Kindergarten up through college. This is why the LGBTs can truthfully say that the young are on their side. They were indoctrinated to be so.


51 posted on 09/09/2012 9:47:25 AM PDT by scottjewell
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To: Travis McGee

ha, point well illustrated! ;-)


52 posted on 09/09/2012 9:54:51 AM PDT by scottjewell
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To: GreenHornet

Absolutely. The gay issue now mimics the race issue in every aspect.


53 posted on 09/09/2012 9:57:15 AM PDT by scottjewell
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To: SoFloFreeper

I think most of tv is a tool of the left. The only reason they produce anything family friendly at all is becuase it brings in the money which goes back into support for baby killing/gay marriage supporting/name it.
If much of the media news are hacks and tools of the left then it doesn’t take much of a stretched to imagine that a large part of tv has the same agenda.
No doubt the radical left has successfully infiltrated most of hollywood,tv,news,education system and likely a large part of advertising as well.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers.


54 posted on 09/09/2012 9:59:42 AM PDT by Leep (I'm a Chic-Fil-- A-merican)
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To: scottjewell

..gay issue now mimics the race issue..


NOt that it matters to the gay activist but the big difference is noone brought gays over on a boat and forced them to be queer. Or, forced them to labor for low wages.


55 posted on 09/09/2012 10:06:00 AM PDT by Leep (I'm a Chic-Fil-- A-merican)
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To: LibLieSlayer

Just finished watching “Play Misty for Me.” Awesome ‘70s brilliance!


56 posted on 09/09/2012 10:09:15 AM PDT by rabidralph (http://www.patriotcalendars.com/)
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To: scottjewell

That second paragraph is actually rather concerning. The state legislator is 100 percent correct on the same-sex “marriage” issue, but I don’t think it is proper for a state legislator’s to tell a private company to ‘inhibit’ the free expression of its employees or to tell those employees to ‘cease and desist’ from making statements the legislator disagrees with. Just like it was not proper for the mayors of Boston and Chicago to tell Chik-fil-A to stop talking about biblical marriage.

The fact that this legislator is on the right side of the underlying issue, while the mayors of Boston and Chicago were on the wrong side of the issue, is irrelevant. Government officials have no business telling any private individual or business to stop expressing their opinion, regardless of whether that opinion is right or wrong.


57 posted on 09/09/2012 10:30:31 AM PDT by Conscience of a Conservative
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To: Conscience of a Conservative

Point extremely well taken and duly noted.


58 posted on 09/09/2012 11:41:43 AM PDT by scottjewell
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To: Leep

Yes, aping the race issue is a forgery of the LGBTs, no doubt of that.


59 posted on 09/09/2012 11:44:11 AM PDT by scottjewell
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To: Conscience of a Conservative
The fact that this legislator is on the right side of the underlying issue, while the mayors of Boston and Chicago were on the wrong side of the issue, is irrelevant. Government officials have no business telling any private individual or business to stop expressing their opinion, regardless of whether that opinion is right or wrong.

Exactly. Thank you. I was going to post something similar myself.

And BTW, a little background on the politician who wrote the letter on Maryland General Assembly letterhead:

Emmett C. Burns, Jr. (born August 26, 1940) is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party.

Burns has been involved in government task forces on the legacy of slavery in Maryland, on the impact of cults in institutions of higher education, and on entrepreneurship among African-Americans. He is a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and the sponsor of the bill that changed the name of Maryland's major airport to the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

In 1999, Burns accused a tow truck driver of uttering a racial slur, a claim the driver denied. Michael Stansbury, a tow truck driver for Flash Towing, said that he denied service to the politician after Burns starting shouting at him and used a profane term to refer to his race.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_C._Burns,_Jr.

I see a pattern here and not a good one. The Rev. Burns being on the right side of the gay marriage issue, he’s also on the side of “racial” politics and division on racial lines and evidently believes in his free speech, even racial slurs against white people but doesn’t believe in the free speech of anyone else.

Whether or not I agree with Brendon Ayanbadejo, he expressed his opinion as a private citizen. I am not in favor of politicians in any sort of official or semi-official capacity, censuring private speech even speech with which I may not agree or attempting to threaten his employer if that employer doesn’t “inhibit such expressions from your employee and that he be ordered to cease and desist such injurious actions”.

And I would feel the very same way, even more so if some politician wrote a similar letter regarding Ravens player Matt Birk because of his Pro-Life stand. And BTW, I haven’t seen the Ravens censure Matt Birk nor should they.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2689577/post

60 posted on 09/09/2012 12:36:17 PM PDT by MD Expat in PA
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