TECHNICAL FOUL

ESPN Apologizes For Anti-Gay Commentary After Jason Collins’ Coming Out

Screen shot 2013-04-30 at 2.54.45 PMThe internet exploded yesterday with overwhelming support for Jason Collins, the NBA player that came out in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated. The announcement made him the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport, and probably the first gay dude to get a congratulatory “coming out” call from Barack Obama.

Seeing an opportunity to stir up some unnecessary shit, ESPN invited anti-gay staff reporter Chris Broussard to weigh in with some religious commentary on Outside the Lines yesterday afternoon.

According to Broussard, you cannot “live an openly homosexual lifestyle [or have] pre-marital sex between heterosexuals…the Bible says that’s a sin.” He continued, “I believe that’s an open rebellion to God and Jesus Christ.”

ESPN was quick to issue an apology on behalf of Broussard on Monday night:

“We regret that a respectful discussion of personal viewpoints became a distraction from today’s news. ESPN is fully committed to diversity and welcomes Jason Collins’ announcement.”

Still, no apology from Broussard.

Should ESPN force their reporters to apologize for insensitive comments made on national television (as they’ve done in the past), or protect Broussard’s not-so-kosher opinion?

Either way, they should definitely think about getting him into some public speaking classes.

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