Hines Ward doesn't 'think football is ready' for an openly gay player

[venom]

Jason Collins decision to come out of the closet is a huge deal: Collins, despite being an NBA free agent, is the first active player in any major North American sport to be openly gay. It's not illogical to believe that the NFL and MLB are next in line to accept an openly gay player.

However, former Steelers wideout Hines Ward doesn't think that " football is ready" for an openly gay player just yet.

"I don't think football is ready. There's too many guys in the locker room and, you know, guys play around too much," Ward said on NBC Sports Radio via Pro Football Talk.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22170567/hines-ward-doesnt-think-football-is-ready-for-an-openly-gay-player

[Moose]

I'm getting sick and tired of all this 'politically correct ' crap. Why do people have to talk about their sexual preference habits. Leave it in the privacy of your home and behind closed doors. I, personally agree with Mike Wallace's tweet about how a man can prefer another man when there are so many beautiful women out there, but that's my preference, and apparently his too. Why should he have to apologize for his thoughts ? Why is everyone else's beliefs more important than your's ? I just don't get it. I'm sure Hine's will be approached now on his thoughts of gay's in the NFL. I'm still waiting for different locker rooms and restrooms to be built for the gays. After all, isn't a gay man in the men's locker room the same as if I would go into a women's locker room ? Politically correct crap needs to be done away with.

[Spike]

You left out the other statement he gave right after that...


Ward remains optimistic that a player will decide otherwise. “Hopefully one guy comes out of the closet and will be comfortable with himself,” Ward said. “I don’t have anything against a gay football player or a gay person period so if he does, he has support from me. I want people to live their lives for who they are and don’t have to hide behind closed doors to do that.”

[Dwinsgames]

don't they already have one in Eye Won Bed aye Joe

[steelreserve]

If football was ready for Brady, it's ready for an openly gay player. There's practically no difference.

[st33lersguy]

We should not be celebrating someone just for being gay, being gay does not make you better than being straight

[Psycho Ward 86]

who the hell cares who's gay or not. sad that its considered relevant at all in the world of sports

[steeldawg]

I'm getting sick and tired of all this 'politically correct ' crap. Why do people have to talk about their sexual preference habits. Leave it in the privacy of your home and behind closed doors. I, personally agree with Mike Wallace's tweet about how a man can prefer another man when there are so many beautiful women out there, but that's my preference, and apparently his too. Why should he have to apologize for his thoughts ? Why is everyone else's beliefs more important than your's ? I just don't get it. I'm sure Hine's will be approached now on his thoughts of gay's in the NFL. I'm still waiting for different locker rooms and restrooms to be built for the gays. After all, isn't a gay man in the men's locker room the same as if I would go into a women's locker room ? Politically correct crap needs to be done away with.

Now hold on a moment nobody asked mike wallace for his opinion, he took the time to comment on the situation. He apologized because hes a public figure representing an organization, an organization who doesnt share the same views. Wallace has a right to his opinion, but when you put it out there publicly, representing an organization you better be ready to handle the opposing opinions. Wallace didnt have to apologize, there is nothing that forced him too, but he was worried about public perception and endorsements. Its got nothing to do with PC, people today are just more accepting of homosexuality because we are more educated on it as a society. Also the locker room thing is ridiculous, locker rooms are not seperated by sexual orientation , they are seperated by gender, a gay man is still a man.

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We should not be celebrating someone just for being gay, being gay does not make you better than being straight

We are not celebrating him being gay, we are celebrating acceptance. We didnt celebrate jackie robinson for being black, we clebrated what it meant for society that the color barrier was broken.

[salamander]

I don't watch football games to care about whether or not a person is gay, straight or whatever. I watch football games to watch football. I have no right to tell anyone what kind of lifestyle to live. To each their own is how I feel.

[steeldawg]

I don't watch football games to care about whether or not a person is gay, straight or whatever. I watch football games to watch football. I have no right to tell anyone what kind of lifestyle to live. To each their own is how I feel.

I agree

[Spike]

Let me state for the record I am all for women's rights too - lesbian porn is hot

[Count Steeler]

who the hell cares who's gay or not. sad that its considered relevant at all

That has been my stance. Why do I have to know if you are gay?

[Moose]

Also the locker room thing is ridiculous, locker rooms are not seperated by sexual orientation , they are seperated by gender, a gay man is still a man.

Not so ridiculous if you understand that a gay man is attracted to a man, and men locker rooms can have 'naked' men in them. Gender is sort of thrown out the window when gay is the subject. So, locker rooms and restrooms are important.

[steelreserve]

Not so ridiculous if you understand that a gay man is attracted to a man, and men locker rooms can have 'naked' men in them. Gender is sort of thrown out the window when gay is the subject. So, locker rooms and restrooms are important.

You don't seriously think that, over an entire lifetime of dealing with being on teams and sharing locker rooms, a gay guy wouldn't figure out how to just deal with it and blend in with everyone? I mean, that's what they're doing now. You're trying to make it in an elite sports league, that's what you're focused on, and the last thing you want to do is go around making your teammates uncomfortable. It's not like you're going to have guys walking around in the locker room with hard-ons all the time, which is apparently what some people are afraid of.

[Moose]

I know it's been going on for a lifetime, and I definitely don't want to get into a back and forth messaging over this topic, I'm just saying this political correct thing is getting overboard. And I personally think that, like it or not, Jason Collins has made some of his teammates uncomfortable. Just my opinion.

[tube517]

Marsha's been carrying the pink torch for years. This is really old news. Give Bellicheat credit for letting the girl play.

[XxKnightxX]

Now hold on a moment nobody asked mike wallace for his opinion, he took the time to comment on the situation. He apologized because hes a public figure representing an organization, an organization who doesnt share the same views. Wallace has a right to his opinion, but when you put it out there publicly, representing an organization you better be ready to handle the opposing opinions. Wallace didnt have to apologize, there is nothing that forced him too, but he was worried about public perception and endorsements. Its got nothing to do with PC, people today are just more accepting of homosexuality because we are more educated on it as a society. Also the locker room thing is ridiculous, locker rooms are not seperated by sexual orientation , they are seperated by gender, a gay man is still a man.

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We are not celebrating him being gay, we are celebrating acceptance. We didnt celebrate jackie robinson for being black, we clebrated what it meant for society that the color barrier was broken.

Lets just add the fact that Wallace is playing in Miami, a very openly gay community, thats a hell of a smart move on his end just like Ozzie Guillen did with the Marlins. At the end of the day, he took it upon himself to open his mouth, and he has to deal with this now. I dont care what his preference may be, but Im sure youd find better ways to go about this , especially with this knee jerk media going out on with hunt for figures who make a gay joke and blast them as homphobes.

[BnG_Hevn]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd be gay as all getout if I were in the NFL. Afterall, being in the NFL is a dream come true for many players so what reason would they have to not be happy??

[GodfatherofSoul]

Also the locker room thing is ridiculous, locker rooms are not seperated by sexual orientation , they are seperated by gender, a gay man is still a man.

But, *why* are restrooms separate? It's *because* of sexual orientation which is most easily associated with sex (not gender). The idea is we don't want the opposite sexual orientation interfering with our business as we conduct ourselves partially or totally exposed. It's also the reason we wear clothing and conceal parts of our anatomy even in warm conditions. This is one of the unresolved issues with gay teammates (or in the military for that matter). What happens in close quarters when sexual orientation becomes a factor? If your answer is simply a blanket "it doesn't matter" then we also don't need separate restrooms. That implies some major changes to culture.

I've never been in one of these situations so I don't known if it is or isn't an issue, but what happens if you've got a gay teammate in a shower or some similar situation and he's leering or making comments or sexual suggestions. I've actually heard pro athletes talk about certain people who come into the locker room for interviews who are only there to "look".

[steeldawg]

Not so ridiculous if you understand that a gay man is attracted to a man, and men locker rooms can have 'naked' men in them. Gender is sort of thrown out the window when gay is the subject. So, locker rooms and restrooms are important.

Yes but gay men have been in the lockerooms already without issue, why would we resort to segregation just because we know someone is gay? This is not the first gay athelete to be in a lockeroom, I mean honestly what do people thiink is going to happen, collins is going to start grabbing asses in the shower?

[steeldawg]

But, *why* are restrooms separate? It's *because* of sexual orientation which is most easily associated with sex (not gender). The idea is we don't want the opposite sexual orientation interfering with our business as we conduct ourselves partially or totally exposed. It's also the reason we wear clothing and conceal parts of our anatomy even in warm conditions. This is one of the unresolved issues with gay teammates (or in the military for that matter). What happens in close quarters when sexual orientation becomes a factor? If your answer is simply a blanket "it doesn't matter" then we also don't need separate restrooms. That implies some major changes to culture.

I've never been in one of these situations so I don't known if it is or isn't an issue, but what happens if you've got a gay teammate in a shower or some similar situation and he's leering or making comments or sexual suggestions. I've actually heard pro athletes talk about certain people who come into the locker room for interviews who are only there to "look".

No restrooms are clearly seperated by gender, Mens room and ladies room their is no distinction for sexual orientation. Im pretty sure we have all been in a restroom with a gay person and not had them interfere with our business. You deal with sexual harrasment like you would in any situation, gay people do have self control, being gay does not mean you automatically lean over to check out the guys junk peeing next too you.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Not so ridiculous if you understand that a gay man is attracted to a man, and men locker rooms can have 'naked' men in them. Gender is sort of thrown out the window when gay is the subject. So, locker rooms and restrooms are important.

Um, thats just ludicrous. Just because a guy is gay doesnt mean he's attracted to any friggin guy. Should women have to look at you with contempt and fear if youre around them just because youre straight? No, because no guy walks around being sexually attracted to everything with a uterus. I have gay friends and feel perfectly comfortable around them because they respect my boundaries as a straight guy.

(lol sorry not trying to turn this into a soapbox discussion, just my food for thought)

[SteelerFanInStl]

Um, thats just ludicrous. Just because a guy is gay doesnt mean he's attracted to any friggin guy. Should women have to look at you with contempt and fear if youre around them just because youre straight? No, because no guy walks around being sexually attracted to everything with a uterus. I have gay friends and feel perfectly comfortable around them because they respect my boundaries as a straight guy.

I agree. This whole thing is so ridiculously overblown. It's only an issue if you make it an issue.

[Steeldude]

This is absurd. I don't hear people saying, "I'm heterosexual". Who cares if you are gay? Does anyone really need to know? It has nothing to do with football.

[tube517]

Hines would knock his head off straight or gay.

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using Tapatalk 2

[vader29]

This comedian makes a good point, if you are straight you should have no problem with gays because it frees up more women for you. :chuckle:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y2FY1W9oiA

[KeiselPower99]

Personally I couldnt care less if some guy wants to gobble on another mans tally whacker. Its when the media shoves it down our throats(no pun intended) that we have to bend over backwards and make sure they are applauded for their decision that makes me sick.