September112012
“If the Baltimore Ravens will at any point trade for Mr. Kluwe, I promise to double-down on my season tickets and purchase a second pair of seats. And if we have no practical need for a second punter, then perhaps there is an English or political science department at a Maryland university willing to immediately offer Mr. Kluwe a tenure-track position. If this fellow is encouraged to continue his newfound career as either an essayist or political scientist, I promise to contribute heartily to the endowment of that discerning institution of higher learning. Mr. Kluwe can do a lot more for society than kick a football.”
David Simon | Fourth and long. Delegate Burns needs to punt.
This. And all of this.
To recap:
Maryland Delegate Emmett Burns wrote a letter to the Baltimore Ravens last week asking them to make Brendon Ayanbadejo stop talking about his support for marriage equality.
So Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, who also supports marriage equality and freedom of speech, wrote a scathing (and wonderfully badass) letter to Burns in response.
(FYI, Kluwe makes excellent points but spares no profanities. If you’re an “EARMUFFS!!!” kind of person, he made you a clean version. You know you want to read a letter to a Congressman that includes “sparklepony” and “lustful frolicking ostrich” so no excuses!)
And then David Simon, the creator of Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire, added his own take in a very well-written (obviously) blog post in agreement (excerpt above).
High fives and fist bumps all around.
(Except for Del. Burns. No high five for him, even though he did retract his initial request.)
(via sportsinstilettos)
12PM
Yes, I am still on a high after last night’s win for the Broncos over the Steelers in the first Sunday Night Football match-up of the season. Yes, the game lived up to the hype. Yes, PFM looks good in that nearly neon orange jersey, and, yes I realize it is only one game and we didn’t just win the Super Bowl.
Except we kind of did. The QB super bowl. Manning is a Bronco and he looked great last night.
But, again, it is only one game. After the win, and even during the game, my Twitter feed was exploding with Manning love and for the sacks Von Miller and Derek Wolfe had on Big Ben (especially when Miller “Tebowed” after a sack). The Broncos had Broncos fans feeling like we had just won the lottery. Or the super bowl. Although it was exciting — and, trust me, I was just as excited as any Broncos fan –I couldn’t even sleep I was so hyped– but there were still mistakes on both sides of the ball.
Take the defense. The Broncos had the ball for a mere 36 seconds in the entire third quarter. Luckily for the offense the 36- second drive resulted in a touch down and Steelers fans hating Demaryius Thomas even more, but unluckily it meant that the Denver defense would have to come back on the field after nearly a nine minute drive by the Steelers. They looked exhausted and couldn’t stop Roethlisberger and company from converting third and longs all night. The defense did come up with the big play when it was needed most — the pick six from Tracy Porter was huge– but they still need work. They can’t allow a team to hang onto the ball for nearly an entire quarter. Even though the drive only resulted in a field goal, that isn’t something they can feel good about because other teams will make them pay. Like, perhaps, the Falcons who scored 40 points on the Chiefs on Sunday and who the Broncos have to visit next Monday in another prime-time game.
There’s no denying Manning looked great,but he had his share of problems too. Getting silly penalties for delay of game or for not having seven players set up on the line of scrimmage before the snap are uncharacteristic of Manning. Still, they are things that need to be worked on so that they don’t happen as the season goes on. Most of the game, though, Manning was Manning. Brilliant at reading defenses and surgical when leading the two minute offense. “I don’t know how Peyton’s neck is doing,” NBC sports analyst Chris Collinsworth said. “But his brian’s doing just fine.”
It’s a long season, though, and as optimistic and excited as I am about the Broncos chances and about Peyton Manning, let’s not get too carried away. Yet.
June132012
“
I think at the end of the day guys care about how you play football, because we’re all so competitive about winning that if there is a guy who comes out as gay in our lockerroom and he’s a good football player, people aren’t going to care about that. I think that’s the honest truth.
I think guys care about what kind of person they are, what kind of teammate they are and how good they are at helping us win.
”
Houston Texan Connor Barwin on marriage equality, his gay brother and NFL culture – Outsports
Excerpt from Outsports’ interview with Houston Texans’ outside linebacker Connor Barwin.
Barwin, whose brother is gay, has been open about his support for marriage equality and contacted Outsports about doing the interview.
It’s refreshing that Barwin’s eager to talk about it, considering that homosexuality is often viewed as a taboo topic among professional locker rooms.
His remarks basically echo the premise of the “You Can Play” campaign, which asserts that sexual orientation shouldn’t be an issue among pro athletes because it has no bearing on whether they can do their jobs, whether they can play.
Barwin paints a pretty positive picture about how gay athletes will ultimately be accepted by their teammates and fans when they choose to come out. It’s easy to forget sometimes that these players are real people like the rest of us, and just as many people these days know someone - a friend, a family member - who is openly gay, the players do, too.
I think we’re only going to see more and more athletes becoming more comfortable with the idea of openly gay athletes in locker rooms, and speaking out about it.
Hopefully, thanks to people like Connor Barwin, it won’t be too long before we reach a point where young fans and athletes have strong, competitive openly gay professional athletes to look up to as role models.
(via sportsinstilettos)
(via sportsinstilettos)
