After ten years as a professional football player in the NFL, former Super Bowl champion Raheem Brock’s career has come to this: Standing on a New York City sidewalk, talking about gay men taking showers. Career height right here, folks!
TMZ found the fading star overcome with laughter this week, speaking on the hotly debated subject of locker room politics once the NFL receives its first openly gay player. Brock explains that “guys won’t go in the shower if they know a guy’s gay in there. They [sic] gonna feel uncomfortable.”
The currently unemployed barrel o’ laughs went on to claim “I wouldn’t [go in the shower]” and “I would stay at my locker and chill until he’s done getting out of the shower.” Brock says a number of current NFL stars would agree with him “regardless of whether it’s politically correct.”
The issue may become reality as soon as next season, now that NFL hopeful Michael Sam has come out of the closet. Too bad he won’t get to shower with wonderful dine-and-ditchers like Raheem Brock 🙁
BlackHouston
homie, you are unemployed and a non factor. your time to shine is long over. fall back
KDub
I actually think the this is quite interesting. Integrating gays into pro sports isn’t going to be easy. The US is mostly hetero, right? And most gym locker rooms separate men’s showers from female showers. I would imagine a woman might feel uncomfortable showering with a strange man. Now of course it doesn’t mean that the man is automatically attracted to her just because she’s a woman, but I think the discomfort is still valid. Might the same be true for straight players when it comes to showering with gay players?
Kieran
Segregation today! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!
White people refuse to shower with Negroes!!
litper
@KDub: not because straight men always showered with gay men, and many straight men are not that “straight” too. But I find the whole concept of shared showers, bathrooms and lockerooms stupid and unnecessarily homoerotic
Tony Johnston
sorry but I’d def be sneaking some peeks in as the soapy water rolls down his strong back to what I’d imagine are some big round and full muscle cheeks. always thought he was hot, fading or not.
tricky ricky
ten to one he’s got a little dick. all these whiners do.
SteveDenver
So Raheem would shower with drug users, cheats and domestic abusers, but not a gay man? Is he scared somebody’s gonna poke his ass while he’s not looking?
Nice to see this topic is giving lots of players the chance to live up to the lamest stereotype. Brock is an idiot.
SteveDenver
@tricky ricky: @KDub: So in essence you’re implying that a straight football jock who is LOOKED AT in the shower takes on the role of a woman? I would love to hear Brock’s response to that.
Joincny
@KDub: what exactly is the point your trying to make? Gay people have to sacrifice their honesty and integrity to make people la little more comfortable? You really think that way?
balehead
He’s a silly little closet case….
Cam
Jackie Robinson means nothing to this guy apparently.
hephaestion
Raheem Brock is either an idiot or a closet case.
DShucking
Let the little people play themselves out. We can all bask in the fact that the haters, the vocal one’s anyway, are now becoming the minority.
Kangol
Banging around in there with all those hangers. Open the closet door, thing.
DarSco
At least he’s being honest
Eiswirth
Wow — this asshole is really secure in his masculinity, isn’t he? it must be terrifying to think one openly gay man might see his penis, as opposed to all the closeted gay men who’ve seen it over the years without him knowing it. Idiot.
DarSco
@Kieran: you can’t really compare being homosexual to being black. This might seem rude to say BUT if a person is gay you can hide in the closet, You shouldn’t but you cam . Most people see me walking down the street and they see a black man, not gay, not american, not a christian by birth, a BLACK MAN.
I’m not saying that being gay is a choice because i was born a homosexual
DShucking
@DarSco: He neither compared nor equated the two.
Mezaien
ONE I can remind him that apartheid, South Africa, was great! TWO what anyone expecting from a Muslim.
Fitz
Thankfully, I am not as much of an animal as him. I can be around naked bodies and STILL manage to behave in a pro-social way. I do it 5-6 times a week.. I go to the gym, I work out, I get stinky, I shower. Sometimes there is a crazy hot guy that I take a quick glance at. But mostly I just shower. When I was a little younger I would visit the steam room… but even then, swear to G-d.. never raped anyone. Not even once.
oneor38
I was in my class, and i heard some guys talking about Michael Sam come out stuff, and this kid was like “If i 6ft tall and a gay sharing the locker room with me, i gonna punch him so hard!”. And then i was like, get over yourself, no one going to do anything to you.
longpastdue
I think the part of this that baffles me the most is that somehow showering has been made into almost an integral part of being on a pro-football team. One might think that with the amount of money that pro football players make (and the amount more they keep whining about needing) that better shower facilities would already be a point of contention. I personally know that no matter who was around gay, straight, male, female, or anywhere in-between I would prefer to shower in private just for some peace and quiet. How do the shower arrangements have anything at all to do with the Game of football. One of the high schools I went to had private shower facilities, another didn’t and frankly I never noticed it having an impact on our playing.
yaoming
Did the white players talk this way when Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers? Forced to shower with a negro? How did they live through that?
Joincny
@DarSco: You may call him honest, but he doesn’t trust gay people. Why are you defending him?
Mdterp01
As a Black and Latino man I hate the fact that there are way too many Black homophobes. If anyone should be able to empathize with the gay community, a group that is marginalized and discriminated, you’d think it would be Black people. Unfortunately, the control by the Black church and the less educated tend to hold these ignorant views. One of things I’m very grateful for is that Jason Collins and Michael Sam are both Black and therefore it offers a role model to the many Black youth and adults who continue to live in the closet because of the ignorant stance by Brock and many other Black men. This guy needs to take a STADIUM of seats!!
jonjct
welcome to the real world fellas where muslims hate gays. i know liberals and obama lovers just love muslims and that gay guys love to be inclusive and multi cultural and all, but at some time, probably not now (and yes, i expect to get bashed here for being intolerant), gays will get the very clear message that muslims hate gays. so, let’s make sure we pass some amnesty bill and make these muslim bigots permanent residents. consider what muslims have done to amsterdam. then know for sure they will do the same to the castro. your neck is on the line fellas, literally.
DarkZephyr
@DarSco: “At least he’s being honest”??? Really? Wow, what a hero he must be to you then! Why don’t you erect a statue to him or throw him a parade? Seriously I cannot believe you said that DarSco. Homophobes are OFTEN “being honest” when they vilify us. Its *not* OK. Just for the record.
“@Kieran: you can’t really compare being homosexual to being black. This might seem rude to say BUT if a person is gay you can hide in the closet, You shouldn’t but you cam . Most people see me walking down the street and they see a black man, not gay, not american, not a christian by birth, a BLACK MAN.
I’m not saying that being gay is a choice because i was born a homosexual”
Annoying and insensitive statement, DarSco! I had my white butt handed to me time and time again in high school for being gay (was almost killed more than once, stabbed, throttled, beaten) and I never ONCE told ANYONE that I was gay. They just *always* somehow knew and loved to ridicule, castigate and physically harm me. So don’t effing tell me that I can just “hide it”. I *NEVER* could no matter *how* hard I tried.
@jonjct: Why do people like you always scream that “gays love Muslims” and behave as if we are clueless as to how hateful Islam is to gays? I am well aware of this fact. My fiance is a gay Muslim man and his Islamic family treats him deplorably because of his gayness and their religious beliefs. They would rather see him unhappy or even dead than happy with someone he loved. That being said, I judge Islam as hateful to LGBT people but when it comes to Muslim individuals, I judge them on a case by case basis. If I I was just a complete Anti-Muslim bigot I would not be engaged to the amazing man that I am engaged to.
And lets not pretend that Christianity as a rule treats us with great love. Please. But I am sure YOU just LOVE us, right?
Tackle
@Mdterp01: Your type of comment is what gives ammunition to r#c@st, regardless of sexual orenation, and prolongs and holds sterotypes about Blacks being the most homophobic. It just amazes me how one comment from one Black man, somehow turns into the whole Black community. To generalize is displaying ignorance. And you say too many Black homophobies?? Rush Limbaugh,Eminem,
Kirk Cameron, Juan Pablo, Alex Baldwin, Jarred Cosart, Duck Danasty,
Westboro Baptist Church, and Matthew Shepards killers. What color are they.
You act like ALL LGBTQ people are this loving, kind, all embracing and accepting group, worthy of empathy and sympathy. Yes
some of the most loving, kind, generous and fair people who I have met, have been LGBTQ people. And some of the most hateful, prejudice, spiteful and unfair people who I have encountered have been, LGBTQ people. So empathy that you speak of should NOT be given as a whole to ANY community, but by a case by case, person by person, individual bases. And understand the context of where I’m coming from. I’m not talking about group/civil rights. And the Black church has no more influence over Blacks than the White church has over Whites. And as far as Jason Collins & Micheal Sam being roll models, for Black youths and adults who live in the closet, people need to slow their roll. Wait until you learn MORE about a person and their life. Yes what Micheal Sam and Jason Collins did is a courageous act. But one courageous act should not be the definition of a role model.
Dakotahgeo
@Dakotahgeo: Get with the program, censors!!!
krystalkleer
whether he’s a closet case or not is irrelevant…why do moron’s like him always assume that every GAY MAN wants anything to do with them on a sexual level…and further more…what makes him think that he has NEVER been in a shower in the past with a GAY MAN?
http://getoffmydress.blogspot.com/2014/02/bleedn-hearts-club.html
Mdterp01
@Tackle…you are talking about celebrity homophobes. I’m just talking about what I see from too many average Black people. I didn’t say all Blacks. I said there were way too many because THERE ARE!!! Don’t try and act like there aren’t. Also, the larger point I was making is that there really shouldn’t be any homophobia in the Black community because again, if there’s anyone who can relate to the plight of a marginalized and discriminated against group it should be Black people.
However, you are right that there are plenty of hateful gay people. There’s plenty of racism in the gay community and mainstream gay organizations have never demonstrated an interest in addressing issues affecting gays of color. Transgendered people and bisexual people are also ostracized within the gay community. So definitely we have our own sh*t we need to clean up as well. However, that still doesn’t mean what I said wasn’t truthful.
jonjct
@DarkZephyr: somewhere in your “all about YOU” diatribe you made the point that you judge muslims individually, not as a group. i want you to consider one thing, if you are a gay muslim, you probably shouldn’t be calling yourself a muslim anymore. maybe culturally there is something to hold onto like that crazy pre-ramadan party or maybe you have very tasteful killim carpets but really, a muslim, probably not. and gays should not be afraid of neutered muslims. and, please explain what you mean when you say in your opening sentence “people like you”. what the what? people like what?
masc4masc
You “guys” can be such sissies sometimes (lol). Brock said nothing derogatory and didn’t use any slurs. If he wants to remove himself from showering with gay men because it makes him uncomfortable, that’s his right. He wouldn’t be hurting anyone by it. Don’t see why some of you have your panties all bunched up over it, but you’re being REALLY stereotypical.
CCTR
@DarSco: I couldn’t agree more about his honesty. Many NFL officials are going on record sharing similar sentiments but remaining anonymous. He is certainly showing his ignorant homophobic views but hopefully he and any other players/NFL officials that share his views can and will be educated as a result of people in the NFL voicing their honest feelings.
Homophobia is about fear and ignorance. I think it is also ignorant to pretend that having an out gay NFL player poses no concerns. It will be a first and unfortunate as it is many folks fear change and LGBT people. This is an opportunity to teach Raheem Brock and any others that share his views that their fears are unfounded, offensive, and discriminatory.
LandStander
@DarSco: “if a person is gay you can hide in the closet”
This is completely untrue. It may be true for some gay people, but not everyone can hide in the closet. Go look at the post on Buddy Cole.
LandStander
@LandStander: I should add, when people see Buddy Cole walking down the street, they see a gay man. Not a religion, not an American, but a GAY MAN. The same way they see you as a black man.
Spike
Just curious, if a white NFL player were to say that he was not comfortable taking showers and sharing the locker room with black players, I wonder what the response would be?
Tony Johnston
@Spike: Race doesn’t have anything to do with sex/sexuality though. Apples and oranges. Those comparisons don’t always work.
@LandStander: Assuming DarSco’s referring to non-fictional characters, he’s actually right. There are no physical markers of homosexuality. Tons of people still conceal their sexual orientation when they think it will benefit them. Is right that people feel like they have to? No. Do they have the option if ever they need to? Absolutely.
DarSco
ohhhh boyyy!!! lemme explain myself. I said a person CAN hide in the closet I NEVER said nor implied that a person SHOULD hide in the closet. All gay men are not fans of Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Diana Ross or Lady gaga nor do we all live in WeHo or Chelsea, Hence, You cannot just look at a person and know that they are gay, that’s offensive. There is no hiding being an African american. You can look at me and see it.
My saying he was being honest just meant that It’s great he’s not hiding his stupidity. From here on out when he makes a statement, ANY STATEMENT, I will IGNORE it rather than buy into his craziness. I was not applauding his statement, I was not co-signing,backing it up or supporting it.
I can be a long winded speaker & writer so my comments were taken out of context as i was trying to keep them short.
CCTR
@Spike: I think those white players would be punished by the NFL and also ripped to shreds by the media and NFL fans.
It is important to acknowledge there are obvious sexual connotations involved with being gay as well as with being naked and showering communally as a team as they seem to do in the NFL. Raheem and others that share his views are too ignorant to see the irony in it all… that these sexual connotations, the communal shower locker room situation, and gay players are nothing new to the NFL. By self exposing their ignorance hopefully they can be educated.
Joincny
@masc4masc: I can only imagine how non stereotypical you are. There are no traces of self loathing in anything you wrote. NONE! NONE AT ALL I tell you!
Joincny
@DarSco: I think you meant just what you said, but now you’re trying to backpedal.
DShucking
I get your point. It’s true. I don’t agree that anyone was equating the two but I’ve made your point before with varying success. The most a black person can do to even attempt to avoid being targeted is like back in the day behave like an uncle tom and ingratiate yourself to the white r*cist but even when he leaves the house and goes to town he is STILL black to all of those white people he encounters. Being a Buddy Cole type character is a behavior that would indicate that a person is most likely gay and as offensive as it may sound, it is a behavior that one can curb or hide all together when they’re in a situation where they deem it the best course of action for their own personal safety. Black people are black 24/7 no matter how they behave.
DShucking
@DShucking: My reply was to DarSo.
DarSco
@DShucking: I re-read & enjoyed the very 1st comment you made, that summed it all up
Zekester
@DShucking: I hate to break it to you but gay people are gay 24/7 no matter how they behave.
DShucking
@Zekester: Have you even been paying attention to the conversation?
Zekester
You’re right, race and sexual orientation are very different things. I’ve never heard of a black person beating, killing or disowning their child because of his race. I’ve never heard of a black child who was bullied at school for their race being afraid to ask for help from his parents because his parents hate him for his race more than the bullies at school. I’ve never heard of black kids committing suicide over their race. I’ve never heard of a pastor in a black church telling members of his own congregation that they are damned to hell for their race. Even still, our struggles are similar in many ways and injustice is injustice. Any oppressed minority should feel some sense of kindredship to all other oppressed minorities in the spirit of MLK Jr’s, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Jewish people didn’t complain that black people had “hijacked” their history when the civil rights movement adopted the stories of Jews in Egypt (i.e. “Let My People Go”) as inspiration for their struggle.
DShucking
@Zekester:
1) Can a gay person hide their sexual orientation?
2) Can a black person hide the color of their skin?
newecreator
Can’t shower with a gay man. Wow. How did you shower with straight men?
DarkZephyr
@DarSco: “I said a person CAN hide in the closet I NEVER said nor implied that a person SHOULD hide in the closet.”
You basically just repeated the thing that annoyed me in the first place. Did you miss what I actually said about never having been able to hide it no matter how hard I tried and being beaten up for it repeatedly? Jesus.
@jonjct: “somewhere in your “all about YOU” diatribe” Yes genius. It was about me, I am a “gay guy” and your comment was about “liberals and gay guys”. Did you forget?
“i want you to consider one thing, and gays should not be afraid of neutered muslims.” As I said I judge Muslims and all people for that matter, on an individual basis. To do otherwise is to be a bigot.
“and, please explain what you mean when you say in your opening sentence “people like you”. what the what? people like what?”
People who feel compelled to make comments about “liberals and gay guys” like the one you made. Who else? I apologize if what I said was mystifying or cryptic, I didn’t intend it to be.
Tony Johnston
Funny how gays wanna be black so bad when it’s time to make gay rights point. lol The irony.
DarkZephyr
@Tony Johnston: What the hell are you talking about? “Wanna be black”? You aren’t making any coherent sense. I think maybe you should stay away from the internet when you have been drinking or smoking weed.
Kangol
@Tackle:
Preach, chile! And don’t forget the ROMAN CATHOLIC and MORMON CHURCHES on that hom0phobia list!
jonjct
@Kangol: not the roman catholics, they have started a detente with gays recently. pope francis said he would no longer judge gay priests for being gay, and the gay priests said they would no longer judge pope francis for wearing that robe with those shoes. see … detente. all is forgiven with the catholics. 🙂
Tackle
@Kangol: Thanks! And yes they do belong on the list.
DShucking
I think you guys have taken DarSco the wrong way and overeacted in your treatment of him.
DarSco
@DShucking: Thank you so much for understanding what i was saying! I forget the rule for speaking to the idiots K.I.S.S> . i sortta modified it to K.I.S.(ft)S. LOL