Each week, Queerty picks one blowhard, hypocrite, airhead, sanctimonious prick or other enemy of all that is queer to be the Douche of the Week. Have a nominee for DOTW? E-mail it to us at [email protected].
This week, dear readers, it was you who guided us to name former sportscaster Damian Goddard as our Douche of the Week.
Yesterday we posted that the soppy-eyed Canadian—who tweeted his disgust for gay marriage back in May—had been made the newest spokesperson for the National Association for Marriage’s Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance.
And Queerty readers chimed in.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Cam said: “How appropriate, they chose an unrepentant bigot as their poster boy. This isn’t about marriage. Because this man just attacked gays, not marriage.”
Dallas David said: “And now he’s got a plush job as a professional bigot with NOM.”
And Ke said, “he must be struggling with “something” to have this much passion.”
And we said, “Wow, what a douche!”
In case you missed it, here’s the ex- Sportsnet broadcaster moping about losing his job:
In an interview with Canada’s National Post, Goddard made his case for being DOTW even clearer.
“I do not hate homosexuals,” he tells reporter Charles Lewis. “But if I remain silent I am consenting to something I don’t believe in. I have 2,000 years of Christian history backing me up on this. I’m good with that.”
So does that mean we’re implicitly supporting every single thing we don’t mouth off about on Twitter?
Oh God, Ashton Kutcher was right!
Now Goddard is employing the favorite tactic of the anti-gay squad: painting himself as a victim! He’s brought a case to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, claiming his free-speech rights were violated when he was terminated.
We’re not experts in Canadian law, but if it’s anything like American law the freedom of speech protects you from government sanctions for what you’ve said or written. If you work at McDonald’s and shout from the rooftops that the McRib sandwich is an abomination, the Bill of Rights isn’t going to save your job.
Whether private individuals should be fired for voicing political opinions on their private Twitter feeds or Facebook pages is a thorny subject. But Goddard wasn’t just a private personality—he was on-air talent, who are routinely held to a different standard because their words and actions can reflect badly on the network.
All together now: What a douche!
TMikel
Indeed, a douche this week and every week to come! With luck, NOM will lose its funding – donations – and he will lose his job. He will be among the first they fire when times get tougher.
Proketrachet
Big forehead, small brain.
Dav
Douche of the week for disagreeing with gay marriage? Does he not have the right to state his opinion, even if you don`t like it? Sure he does. It doesn`t make him a bad person. He didnt bash anybody….so what`s the problem? Free speech DOES apply to good, honest, non-ultra-lefty people, too. Do you lash out at people because deep down you know that you really, really do have mental issues that cause you to abnormally be attracted to folks with the same genitals as you? Do you attack normal people and call them names because in your heart you know there is something wrong with you? There is, but be thankful that the MAJORITY tolerates you…for now…because MOST of us can`t stand you.
Dav
All you fuckups do is whine and bitch about people on this site….no wonder you are becoming less accepted.
Proketrachet
@Dav, as Tanner pointed out, free speech protects from government censorship. It’s not a license to be prejudiced or spread hate against the minorities of American society. This story is really no different from the news anchor who was fired a few weeks ago for his anti-Semitic conspiracy theories (which he voiced on the air). News networks have an image to protect, and they don’t want to keep these people employed because that could land them in hot water. In other words, it’s a business decision. They’re happy to fire them, and we’re happy to see them go.
Proketrachet
Lol. Canadian society too, for that matter.
Mark
@Dav: He’s Canadian and has no say in what happens in the U.S. Also, there is a lot more to this story of him being fired –
Shannon1981
@Dav: Troll much? Just like he can express his hate against us(whether he is ballsy enough to call it that or not, that’s what it is), we can call him on it. You don’t know much about the Freedom of Speech thing, do you? All it protects you from is being jailed for saying what you want. Nothing else.
EmmaMTF
Ah yes, the grown man crying because he thinks it’s OK to publicly endorse a politically religious conservative standpoint from a social media outlet as a public figure without repercussion. It is not his right to use a public twitter account that reflects the opinions of his network to articulate a controversial political opinion that may disenfranchise a large portion of the viewing public.
He wasn’t fired for his beliefs. He was fired as a representative of his company who used social media to express an opinion that could disenfranchise >10% of the viewing public and put his network at financial risk.
Blah blah blah victim blah.
Eastwood
It’s good to be living in an era where sportscasters like this WILL get fired for their homophobic comments on the air. The media does not tolerate the spreading of hate. Stories like this encourage me – let’s keep the momentum going.
Adman
lol @ dav. Have a ball sorting out your troubles by hiding your thoughts in a troll post little manchild. Maybe you can obscure the fact that you’re supposedly “protecting” your “family” by hating queers. I doubt it since we all know what to do with loosely associated “concerned parties” when they show up to piss in the punch bowl, right son? You’re here on a queer site where we protect our families, even the straight dummys like you, stay a while and see how it’s done.
What kind of a man is a straight homo-hater these days? Ask Dav, and let the unintended comedy ensue. I wonder how long you had to research the “points” you made here to discern what your own thoughts mean as they rattle around in your stunted melon? When we’re working together, getting things done and I alpha male the fuck out of you don’t take it hard, Dav. Someone always wants to stand up completely voluntarily, and it obviously isn’t you, hmmm?
Caliban
“no wonder you are becoming less accepted.”
LOL. You might want to take another look at the polls, dingleberry. I think you might be holding them upside down.
MKe
Also his employer noted they he was well aware of the reasons he was terminated. And after watching that video clip, it should surprise no one that he wasn’t a very good employee in the first place.
Palto
Hey Dav – lick your mother’s vagina much? Your daddy shoulda shot his load in the toilet.
Cam
@Dav: said…
“Douche of the week for disagreeing with gay marriage?”
and
“All you fuckups do is whine and bitch about people on this site….no wonder you are becoming less accepted.”
___________________________
1. He didn’t disagree with gay marriage, he attacked gays.
2. Becoming LESS accepted?! LOL!! What shows are YOU watching? DADT repealed, Favorable court decisions, a DOMA repeal voted on in the Senate committee, MArriage in multiple states. Sorry you’re on the losing end of this.
3. You are obviously gay and closeted. REAL straight people don’t get so upset about this subject that they would waste their time hanging out on a gay blog just to fight.
stuart
Hate speech is illegal in Canada – hope he goes to jail.
Hate speech laws in Canada include provisions in the Criminal Code of Canada, provisions in the Human Rights Act and in other federal legislation, and statutory provisions in each of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories. The Criminal Code prohibits “hate propaganda.” The Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on various grounds, and forbids the posting of hateful or contemptuous messages on the Internet. Legislation in the provinces and territories prohibits discrimination on the same grounds as Canada’s Human Rights Act in matters of provincial or territorial concern such as employment and accommodation.
Proud Canadian! Gay marriage in Canada has been legal for 10 years!
matt
@Dav:
Ah my favorite anti-gay argument, flat out denial.
“There is, but be thankful that the MAJORITY tolerates you…for now…because MOST of us can`t stand you.”
“All you fuckups do is whine and bitch about people on this site….no wonder you are becoming less accepted.”
You’re right, everyone really hates us and if we get too uppity you’re all gonna turn on us at a moment’s notice. People have been saying this many years and while I’m sure you and your conservative buddies hate gays as much as ever the rest of the country has changed around you, you might wanna try reading the news or going outside sometime if you believe otherwise.
kylew
“I have 2,000 years of Christian history backing me up on this. I’m good with that.”
Cunt.
Brittany
He didn’t attack gays. He attacked gay marriage. It is not the same thing, stop insinuating that he has a hate on for you. He holds the belief that same sex marriage is wrong because of his religious background. Is he a little douchey? Yes. Does he deserved this much angry backlash? No. Give the guy a break. He expressed an opinion (belief) in an innapropriate mannor, and now he is out of a job for it. Can you all stop crying? Religion is, and always should be, an integral part of any society. It helps keep morals alive, even if they are sometimes misguided.
Stacy
So, are religious people not allowed to have rights any more? Being gay is becoming more and more accepted, and I am certainly happy for that. But being religious is becoming less and less accepted, and that is NOT okay. There should be room enough for everyones beliefs, lest they effect people negatively. His opinion on gay marriage doesn’t effect you, so why the rage? Leave the guy alone.
MikeE
@Stacy: /facepalm
Why is it supporters of religious bigotry (not supporters of RELIGION) just don’t get it AT ALL?
“Religious people” as you call them have all the rights they can want. More so, even than others. But spewing hatred or intolerance BASED upon your religious beliefs is NOT a “right”.
There is room for beliefs. But if your beliefs include hatred and intolerance then no, there is no room for you.
You wouldn’t accept someone who believes in sex with babies, would you? Yet you spout off about “there should be room enough for everyone’s beliefs”.
Some beliefs are not acceptable in a modern civilized society.
In particular, beliefs that marginalize and stigmatize any single minority.
In particular, beliefs that are based upon nothing more than folklore. You can believe all you want in god and miracles. But when your “faith” conflicts with SCIENCE, then there needs to be a stand taken, and things put into the proper perspective.
I AM a religious man. I was married in a church.
But I will NEVER let any religious leader tell me that “person X is not worthy” because that is how they interpret the Bible.
And if YOU are doing so, then I’m sorry. I’ll pray for your soul. I know deep in my heart that God accepts all people. But I’m SURE he doesn’t appreciate people who twist and distort His teachings.
Stacy
@Mike
He wasn’t spewing hatred. “[he] does not hate homosexuals”(The National Post report), he simply does not believe that gay marriage is okay. And he should be allowed to feel that way, and express himself. There is a difference between “Hate speech” and “Something that pisses others off”, and let me tell you, persecuting someone to the point that they loose their means of providing for their family over a simple opinion they hold isn’t, and will never be, right.
Damian
If you saw some of the shit this dickhead says on his Facebook you’d make him douche of the century,
Maria Lena
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