Sunday, October 30, 2005
Gays in professional sports and Stephen A Smith
Following the brave coming out of Sheryl Swoopes, controversial and loud ESPN sports personality Stephen A Smith had a special feature on gay/lesbian people in sports on his show "Quite Frankly".
Among others, the show featured two former NFL players who came out after their playing days were long over. One was a Jesus-freak, the other had pent-up anger issues.
The show also featured one of those fruitcake "priests" who believe in "hate the sin, love the sinner", based on the premise of "homosexuality is a sin". He mentioned Leviticus but had no answer when he was told that according to Leviticus you are also supposed to sell your children and other humans as slaves. The fruitcake also made sure he mentioned he was straight and enjoyed "the bride" (he meant p*ssy, but it wouldn't be proper to use that word). Bigoted fruitcake!
Judging from his comments, Stephen A Smith is not really familiar with gay/lesbian people or issues, but he was very supportive of LGBT people and athletes in being treated fairly and equally. He also called out the "fruitcake priest" on his bigotry.
One thing that Stephan A Smith had issues with was the fact that Sheryl's lover was actually her former (assistant) coach, which he thought was inappropriate (similar to a manager dating one of his assistants).
The other issue that came up was comparing the civil rights struggle of black people in the 60s and gay people.
Overall this was a very gay-positive show. What makes it even more important is that Stephen A Smith is one of the hottest commodities among sports writers, and quite popular with the younger generations.
Among others, the show featured two former NFL players who came out after their playing days were long over. One was a Jesus-freak, the other had pent-up anger issues.
The show also featured one of those fruitcake "priests" who believe in "hate the sin, love the sinner", based on the premise of "homosexuality is a sin". He mentioned Leviticus but had no answer when he was told that according to Leviticus you are also supposed to sell your children and other humans as slaves. The fruitcake also made sure he mentioned he was straight and enjoyed "the bride" (he meant p*ssy, but it wouldn't be proper to use that word). Bigoted fruitcake!
Judging from his comments, Stephen A Smith is not really familiar with gay/lesbian people or issues, but he was very supportive of LGBT people and athletes in being treated fairly and equally. He also called out the "fruitcake priest" on his bigotry.
One thing that Stephan A Smith had issues with was the fact that Sheryl's lover was actually her former (assistant) coach, which he thought was inappropriate (similar to a manager dating one of his assistants).
The other issue that came up was comparing the civil rights struggle of black people in the 60s and gay people.
Overall this was a very gay-positive show. What makes it even more important is that Stephen A Smith is one of the hottest commodities among sports writers, and quite popular with the younger generations.
