On the field, we’re on the same accord … When we come to work, we’re on the same page…Of course I disagree with his stance, but I’m not gonna tell someone how to raise their kids. He wants the world to be a better place for his kids. I think just from where we’re heading, his kids will grow up to have a different opinion from him, I’ll just leave it at that.”
—Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo responding to teammate Matt Birk’s opposition to same-sex marriage via TMZ. Ayanbadejo also defended Birk, tweeting that he doesn’t think Birk is homophobic, rather, his opinions are simply based in religion.
MikeE
hmmmm, he is against equality for LGBT people. that makes him, de facto, homophobic.
if he were not homophobic, he would have no objection to LGBT people marrying.
he doesn’t have to viscerally “Hate” us to be part of the larger problem of homophobia. his simple acquiescence of institutionalized inequality, his actual verbal approval of this discrimination, makes him a homophobe.
hephaestion
If Matt Birk is not anti-gay, then I guess people who don’t think Blacks should have equal rights are not racist. Some Christians use the Bible to justify their racism.
Nice try Brendon, but at some point you need to realize that taking a stance against equality and justice makes Birk a bigot. In the 60’s when I had friends who took stands against black civil rights, I had the courage to tell my bigot friends that they were wrong. You should do the same.
Kevin B
@MikeE: Once your definition of homophobia gets that broad, the term begins to lose meaning, doesn’t it? I mean, there’s a huge difference between the kind of person who preaches that gay people are deviants, or goes so far as to commit a hate crime, and the kind of person whose biggest mistake seems to be misunderstanding the separation of church and state.
MikeE
@Kevin B: promoting the disenfranchisement of a segment of the population is considerably MORE than a “misunderstanding” of separation of church and state.
I don’t think it stretches the definition of homophobia in any way.
The minute you are against equality for ANY single group, you are a bigot. It really isn’t any more complicated than that. There is no rational justification for believing that a segment of the population are undeserving of equality.
KRNYC
I don’t think you have to advocate violence against a particular group to be considered bigoted.
If I thought blacks were inferior to whites, that women shouldn’t vote, that Jews had no place in my office, I think it’d be fair to call me bigoted, even if I claimed to like all those people.
To say that a group doesn’t deserve certain rights, whether or not the notion is based
on an interpretation of a supposedly sacred text, doesn’t absolve one of bigotry.
alexoloughlin
Religion that teaches homosexuality is wrong and people who believe that is homophobia in my view. If people like that for example were told by the pope to jump off the cliff, they would. If on the other hand the pope and his hierarchy told their followers to support marriage equality, they’d support it too. Religion is all cult based anyway with someone at the top telling them what to do.
ChiChi Man
If people can use religion to justify bigotry, where does it stop? Should I create a religion and use it to rail against baggy jeans?
But seriously, I’m glad Ayanbadejo is a marriage equality supporter, but he’s wrong about Birk. We don’t let people hide behind religion when they express sexist or racist views. The same should be the case for homophobia.
balehead
don’t hide behind the bible! The bible actually says to respect the gays…
Little-Kiwi
if he’s not homo”phobic” then he’s certainly homo”ignorant”
and the reality is this – there’s no guarantee his own children are straight. think of the negative impact their father’s ignorant and prejudiced words must create.
there’s so much more to bigotry than lynchings, you know. it’s bigotry. it just plain simply is.
KDub
All I see is a guy respecting his friend’s right to have a different opinion than his own, not sure why that’s any kind of news. Who are we supposed to be angry with here?
MK Ultra
He believes that another, whole demographic of people are less than him and that they don’t deserve the same things he does – that’s a bigot!
Sorry, trying to euphamize your bigotry doesn’t make it better.
There are KKK members who say they don’t hate other races, they are just trying to preserve the white race. Do you buy that?
Bigotry is an ugly characteristic. Nobody wants to be associatd with it. That’s why bigots try to justify their behavior and come up with all these pathetic excuses for why they’re not bigots instead of seeking a cure for their bigotry.bOf course, we all know the most popular one – “Gawd is the reason I’m such a horrible person with horrible views. It’s not my fault I’m a terrible human being and will continue to be so”.
Here Birk implies the most overused, cowardly, low-life excuse -” think of the children”!
Well Birk, maybe you should think about your children, and how embarrassed they be of you in the future.
Rockery
Brendon is umm umm good
Inis Magrath
” … doesn’t think Birk is homophobic, rather, his opinions are simply based in religion.”
That’s just a basic misunderstanding of what homophobia is. It doesn’t matter if Birk wants to discriminate against gay people because his god tells him to or because his daddy brought him up that way, or whatever. Hate is hate, even if your religion condones it.
Matt Birk is a homophobic bigot, period.