i guess this “coming out” thing has a lot of baller wolves upset.
chris clemons of the seahawks happens to be one…
peep what he said in this recent article at the seattle times…
Maybe the NFL locker room actually isn’t ready for an openly gay player.
The real problem may not be that some players will object to the sexual orientation of a teammate, but that some will bristle at what will perceived to be a grab for attention.
That’s the gist of a recent series tweets from Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons, as summarized and explained by Danny O’Neil of the Seattle Times. While the comments could be construed as homophobic on the surface, Clemons eventually gets to the crux of his concern: “I’m not against anyone but I think it’s a selfish act. They just trying to make themselves bigger than the team.”
The first player who comes out will create a major distraction for himself, his teammates, and his entire organization. With each passing season, as interest in the NFL continues to grow and as more and more media companies emerge to cover the sport, the distraction will be even bigger when a player does come out.
That’s one of the primary reasons no player has done it. Football players want to play football, and they generally don’t want to create a distraction for themselves or others on the team. Even if teammates have no issue with a player being honest about who he is, some teammates won’t understand why the player felt compelled to grab a megaphone and let the world know private, personal information that results in a microphone eventually being stuck in all their faces.
i see his point.
hell no one has even step foot out yet and it’s already becoming a problem.
kinda why i wasn’t for it.
can i be honest with the foxhole and surrounding members?
these “coming out” stories become less about freedom,
and more about exploitation from the media.
it won’t be about his team,
a win,
or even a loss anymore.
it won’t be the american dream story of triumph like it should.
it will be about this one person and his personal life.
smells like ratings.
selling newspapers and magazines.
stat counts on blogs for the first story.
every time this player even looks in the direction of another player,
even if it is an innocent friendship,
it will be broken down and scrutinized.
his team mates will ostracize him.
it may do more harm than good.
look at frank ocean’s story.
he came out with this beautiful letter and people think he did it for publicity.
questioned his motives.
“he talks too much in riddles”.
“did it to sell an album”.
x the fight with breezy wolf.
even though breezy wolf’s track record is a mess,
frankie was labelled a “messy queen”.
“he probably tried to come onto him”.
yet a month later,
breezy wolf damn near “rock em; sock em” a valet attendant.
…and the worse was from gays!
us.
the ones who begged for someone to “come out”,
but when they do,
there is a bunch of issues afterwards.
“we could already tell.”
“did it for publicity.”
“doesn’t represent us enough.”
“too gay so we can’t relate.”
or the best one yet,
we put a check mark over him and go on another witch hunt.
just like the straights do.
listen, i’m already over it.
so someone who probably wanted to come out the closet,
after seeing all the bullshit that comes with it,
would rather stay inside where it’s safer.
i don’t blame them.
tell close family and friends and open the door to them and a potential s/o. the ones who matter.
what are your thoughts?
You see that bullshit? First it was “I would rather the gay people on the team actually come out and keep it real with themselves” the undertone there was if any one is ‘stupid’ enough to do so, we will ridicule him to nought. Then Frank Ocean made it “ok” of a sort and, sympathetic most importantly, for a black guy to come out. Undertone: Poor guy having to hide his sexuality to avoid being ridiculed. NOW since it’s okay and you can’t say anything AGAINST it, the new STORY is “Oh, umm yeah it’s not RIGHT because he is taking away attention from the team, why can’t he keep it PRIVATE”
You guys need to stop getting swayed by the wind. Stand for what YOU want, if it’s coming out DO IT, if it’s keeping it private do it, now what TV, “baller wolves” and every tom out there says is APPROPRIATE
Was it selfish for black people to want to openly play baseball with “white men”? Was it Selfish when black people fought for rights?! Chris Clemons needs to keep his mouth shut. How could anyone agree with this foolishness?!
Regardless if someone comes out or not the NFL,NBA,MLB and etc are team sports and anything that distracts from the cohesiveness of the team is detrimental. A classic example is the last season NY Jets bringing in Tebow disrupted the team and was a disaster as much as I love OchoCinco he draws to much attention to himself and changes the atmosphere of the team. Team sports are about WE being a star is playing the game as a unit and being successful but also knowing that being a Lebron is nothing without the support of your mates.
Basically I agree. Whoever comes out first will definitely be the sacrificial lamb.
I honestly don’t think your sexual orientation has any basis in your place of work, so I don’t understand the need to be out or bring that into where you work. You can just live your life openly. Most of these dudes who have boyfriends are in their entourage anyway.
Holding a press conference and declaring you’re gay is kind of self-serving and gives the impression everyone should care. So in essence, isn’t all support and hate deserved since you put yourself out there?
I won’t say the hate is “deserved”, but if you put yourself out there to be judged by others you’ll certainly get some hate as well.
That still involves hiding. Let’s say any baller wolf goes on vacation is is videotapped or pictured kissing his boyfriend. Or let’s say he posts he picture on instagram with he and his s/o in an intimate embrace. All of this without announcing his coming out at a news conference…
The fact remains he defacto came out anyway and will still get the media scrutiny. His only option would be to remain in the closet on and off the field taking every effort to remain undercover. Is choosing not to continue to live like that selfish?
Jamari, you are so right. A lot, if not most, of the critics of Frank Ocean were gays dealing with their own internalized heterosexualism and internalized homophobia, the same way many of Tyler Perry’s harshest critics are self-loathing gays, themselves, who on the one hand love calling him a closet queen, while not being out to family or at work, themselves. It amounts to hating and jealousy directed at those who are phenomenally successful. And, it’s very hypocritical instead of celebrating those of us who are doing well. If there is someone who wants to come out, let him. And, if his team members are bothered, let them get over it. Any momentary attention and nuisance they will face will pale in comparison to the pressures of hiding and using beards and not being oneself that most black gay men confront on a daily basis. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to those black preachers who told him to leave well enough alone. Where would we be today had he done so?
I just don’t like Frank Ocean or any of the material or any of the material on Channel Orange (which I literally JUST listened to for the first time). Furthermore Frank Ocean never came out. People seem to forget that. He’s inauthentic in my opinion.
Tyler Perry movies are just awful and convoluted.
I like Langston Hughes though! Lol
What u mean you don’t like Frank Ocean?!!!?
The assumption is that he isn’t already out to his close friends and family. Maybe this has more to do with him wanting to live a normal life (i.e. not having to creep with his s/o, etc…). Think about it, how many players’ girlfriends do you know or have heard about? Many! It doesn’t mean they’re grasping for attention. They’re just doing what normal ppl do. Even if he’s out to his family, something as simple as dating can be very difficult when you’re still in the closet to the world.
And hey, a few endorsement deals wouldn’t hurt either! Like @ iceed said, some players have a problem with any player who gets extra media attention and money. I’m sure Victor Cruz had some haters.
I usually try not to make this comparison b/c the degree of oppression was different, but how many ppl had a problem with Jackie Robinson, ppl on the team and in the country. Was he selfish? Should he not played b/c some would be uncomfortable? Sometimes, you just gotta be like oh well, they’ll get over it. And the country did then, and maybe it’ll do it again. But someone has to take that step, with all that comes along with it.
Great Points Butter.
I think it’s something that should be done privately. You should only tell people who are close to you, and have your best interest at heart. Even with telling a few people, you still have to watch your back if you don’t want everyone to know. If he wants to broadcast it to the world, why should we deny him that? Lets just hope he can take all the bullshit that comes with it. A negative light may be shed on the team, and some of his teammates may be upset with him because he’s now the center of attention and try to mess him over. Whatever he decides to do, let’s just hope he performs great and goes about his daily life happily. Frank Ocean opened up the door, but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to walk through it.
Happy Easter!!! Now I do see where he’s going with this that would be a big distraction for a team. If somebody said somthing out of line to whomever it would be labeled as bashing and all that. Football if rough and tough as long as whomever can still perform and make plays then go for it. I said all along that it should be somthing private and then BOOM rainbows lol
I agree with Chris in a way. It would be selfish because all the attention would be all on him, and the team may get some bad attention as a result. As of late, the black ones having been coming out like crazy, I am shocked. The media is making it sound like this person is a huge star. They are talking about endorsements and all that other shit. For the player to be taking a chance and wanting to coming out, it has to be someone who knows they have enough talent to continue his career.
I have a feeling of who this player might be. The one I am thinking of is good looking, very private, but his family is religious as well, and he is rarely seen in public outside of football. If it’s who I am thinking of, he could most def. continue his career.
Happy Easter/Resurrection Day.
Whoever comes out, if they are presentable, will get paid. That’s where the hate is coming from. Some players stand out from the team, get a couple of more dollars/attention and get talked about and hated. He will deal with it.
Now Frank Ocean gets shaded because dude is queer, as in, weird. He’s a weird dude. Talented but weird. Creative genius, but weird.
Politics of respectability, although unfair, are important for those who want representative.