During the NFLPA's Rookie Premiere event last weekend, Outsports, self-described as the "worldwide leader in gay sports news, commentary, photos and videos," caught up with several NFL players and asked them about their experiences and thoughts regarding playing with homosexual teammates.
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III was one of them, and he was actually the only rookie that had experience playing with an openly gay teammate and he shared it with the site:
Griffin remembered a high school teammate who had come out to his team in Copperas Cove, Texas. While Griffin said he has gay friends and wouldn’t care if a player came out on his new Washington Redskins team, he remembered a sad ending to the football career of his gay former teammate.
“When he came out, he stopped playing,” Griffin said. “He might have stopped playing because of the negative feedback he might have gotten from being that on the football team. So, I think that’s probably why he ended up quitting.”
It was from that out player that Griffin learned a gay teammate poses no threat.
“Just because they’re gay doesn’t mean they’re hitting on you,” he said.
While many athletes across several professional sports insist that they would have absolutely no problem sharing a locker room with a gay teammate, to see Griffin actually have such an experience and learn something from it is incredibly moving.
Adam Vingan is co-founder and editor of Kings Of Leonsis, a Caps-centric blog. Follow him on Twitter @Adam_KOL and e-mail your story ideas to adamvingan (at) gmail.com.
