When the Vikings cut former punter Chris Kluwe in early May, there was widespread belief that part of the reason he was let go was because the team viewed him as a distraction. Kluwe is an outspoken supporter of gay marriage.
Even though Kluwe’s now gone, the distractions might not be for the Vikings.
Reigning NFL MVP Adrian Peterson weighed in on the hot topic of gay marriage during a radio interview on Sunday, and his opinion on the subject is the opposite of Kluwe’s. “I have relatives who are gay,” Peterson said on Sirius/XM NFL radio, via NESN. “I’m not biased towards them. I still treat them the same. I love ’em. But again, I’m not with that. That’s not something I believe in. But to each his own.”
Petersen might have said “to each his own,” but he doesn’t really mean it. Marriage requires government’s approval—the public’s approval—and without that approval, each can’t marry his own (boyfriend). So how can Petersen, a citizen in a democracy, both believe in someone making his own choices while supporting a position that prevents someone from making his own choices? If Petersen truly believed “to each his own,” then he’d believe in gay marriage. If he doesn’t believe in that, then he believes “to each his own” only applies to straight dudes.
I’m glad our publicly elected NFL officials are given platforms on which to espouse their opinion on non-football related — wait, what?
He probably hasn’t reasoned through it in that detail because he’s a football player and this isn’t his field of expertise, and he was asked a dumb question, and who cares about his opinion on it anyway?
If he works to publicly and actively defeat some gay marriage measure, attack him then.
Who cares? Teenagers care. Teenagers who bully other teenagers. Professional athletes are (unfortunately) icons that children grow up admiring more than anyone else.
Yes, I especially hope that teenagers don’t start emulating the following disastrous opinions:
“I’m not biased towards them. I still treat them the same. I love ’em”.
“But to each his own.”
I disagree with AP here, but he is allowed to have an opinion an opinion that evidently is not based on hate. This does not make him a terrible person
In the same interview Peterson also said he did not believe Kluwe’s views played any part in being cut by the team
If Tim Hardaway, former NBA’er, who espoused his hate for gay people, can come around to a more humane point of view, I think AP can, too. His comments certainly aren’t horrible. They do sound like something a young, dumb (ish) kid says who isn’t mature or independent enough to contrast the group-think mentality of the entirely homophobic world in which he lives. I have hope his view will evolve over time. If he’s truly friends with Kluwe, that’s a hopeful sign, as well.
TSW- Yeah kinda funny how much more enlightened Hardaway has become since he went broke.
lil,
I don’t know his financial situation but not sure how shedding gay hate directs one out of poverty. If you read about his actions since, he’s taken some sensitivity classes and even called Jason Collins in support of his coming out. If all of this has benfitted him financially, and that’s the impetus for his enlightenment, hard to ask for more from a dumb pro athlete.
what does all day AD Peterson have to do with gays? nothing!