Baltimore Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo, an outspoken supporter of marriage equality, is being targeted by Maryland House of Delegates member Emmett C. Burns Jr., who has asked Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti to stop him from talking about it.
In the letter from Burns:
"I find it inconceivable that one of your players, Mr. Brendon Ayanbadejo would publicly endorse Same-Sex marriage, specifically as a Raven Football player. Many of my constituents and your football supporters are appalled and aghast that a member of the Ravens Football Team would step into this controversial divide and try to sway public opinion one way or the other.
"Many of your fans are opposed to such a view and feel it has no place in a sport that is strictly for pride, entertainment and excitement.," Burns wrote. "I believe Mr. Ayanbadejo should concentrate on football and steer clear of dividing the fan base.
"I am requesting that you take the necessary action, as a National Football League Owner, to inhibit such expressions from your employees and that he be ordered to cease and desist such injurious actions. I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing."
Maryland voters face a ballot measure this November that will decide whether the state's marriage equality law, which was passed by the legislature, will take effect.
[Then...]
Then, Ayanbadejo says
he'd "have to thank him more than anything for bringing national attention
to the issue," USA Today reports.
Ayanbadejo expressed surprise that Burns was trying to remove
someone's free speech rights: "For somebody to try to take that
away from me I was pretty surprised, from a politician especially. People get
fired for saying the things that the delegate said. People lose their jobs for
discrimination...I think that whoever voted for him has their right to vote for
who they believe represents their values. And if he represents their values,
he's the best person for the job. If Obama represents the best values for the
country, he deserves the job."
Added Ayanbadejo:
"Its an equality issue. I see the big picture."
[Then...]
Minnesota Viking punter Chris Kluwe, in the form of an extremely colorful
letter, is coming out against Maryland lawmaker Emmett
C. Burns, who this week urged
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti to silence Ayanbadejo from speaking his mind on
gay rights.
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has spoken out in
favor of a Maryland ballot initiative that would legalize gay marriage. Yahoo has published a letterthat Maryland
state delegate Emmett C. Burns Jr. wrote last week to Ravens owner Steve
Bisciotti, urging him to "inhibit such expressions from your
employee." This is Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe's response to
Burns.
Dear Emmett C. Burns Jr.,
I find it inconceivable that you
are an elected official of Maryland's state government. 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. The views you espouse neglect to
consider several fundamental key points, which I will outline in great detail
(you may want to hire an intern to help you with the longer words):
1. As I suspect you have not read
the Constitution, I would like to remind you that the very first, the VERY
FIRST Amendment in this founding document deals with the freedom of speech,
particularly the abridgment of said freedom. By using your position as an
elected official (when referring to your constituents so as to implicitly
threaten the Ravens organization) to state that the Ravens should "inhibit
such expressions from your employees," more specifically Brendon
Ayanbadejo, not only are you clearly violating the First Amendment, you also
come across as a narcissistic fromunda stain. What on earth would possess you
to be so mind-boggingly stupid? It baffles me that a man such as yourself, a
man who relies on that same First Amendment to pursue your own religious
studies without fear of persecution from the state, could somehow justify
stifling another person's right to speech. To call that hypocritical would be
to do a disservice to the word. Mindfucking obscenely hypocritical starts to
approach it a little bit.
2. "Many of your fans are
opposed to such a view and feel it has no place in a sport that is strictly for
pride, entertainment, and excitement." Holy fucking shitballs. Did you
seriously just say that, as someone who's "deeply involved in government
task forces on the legacy of slavery in Maryland"? Have you not heard of
Kenny Washington? Jackie Robinson? As recently as 1962 the NFL still had
segregation, which was only done away with by brave athletes and coaches daring
to speak their mind and do the right thing, and you're going to say that
political views have "no place in a sport"? I can't even begin to
fathom the cognitive dissonance that must be coursing through your rapidly
addled mind right now; the mental gymnastics your brain has to tortuously
contort itself through to make such a preposterous statement are surely worthy
of an Olympic gold medal (the Russian judge gives you a 10 for "beautiful
oppressionism").
3. This is more a personal quibble
of mine, but why do you hate freedom? 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? If gay marriage
becomes legal, are you worried that all of a sudden you'll start thinking about
penis? "Oh shit. Gay marriage just passed. Gotta get me some of that hot
dong action!" Will all of your friends suddenly turn gay and refuse to
come to your Sunday Ticket grill-outs? (Unlikely, since gay people enjoy
watching football too.)
I can assure you that gay people
getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your
house and steal your children. They won't magically turn you into a lustful
cockmonster. They won't even overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic
debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same legal rights as the other
90 percent of our population—rights like Social Security benefits, child care
tax credits, Family and Medical Leave to take care of loved ones, and COBRA
healthcare for spouses and children. You know what having these rights will
make gays? Full-fledged American citizens just like everyone else, with the
freedom to pursue happiness and all that entails. Do the civil-rights struggles
of the past 200 years mean absolutely nothing to you?
In closing, I would like to say
that I hope this letter, in some small way, causes you to reflect upon the
magnitude of the colossal foot in mouth clusterfuck you so brazenly unleashed
on a man whose only crime was speaking out for something he believed in. Best
of luck in the next election; I'm fairly certain you might need it.
Sincerely,
Chris Kluwe
P.S. I've also been vocal as hell
about the issue of gay marriage so you can take your "I know of no other
NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing" and shove it in your
close-minded, totally lacking in empathy piehole and choke on it. Asshole.