Honoring bigotry

[William769]

" recently moved from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, a place famously known as the City of Brotherly Love, and arrived here just in time for the annual NFL Hall of Fame inductions. This year the league has seen fit to honor Reggie White, a man who without question was one of the most fearsome and legendary men to ever play the sport of football, and perhaps the best defensive lineman to take the field.

Unfortunately, he was also a raging homophobe.

Once he left the game, Reggie White went onto to become a preacher of some renown and it was then that his rather unusual views began to spill out, and not just about homosexuals. Here are a few of his more infamous quotes:


"As America has permitted homosexuality to establish itself as an alternative lifestyle, it is also reeling from the frightening spread of sexually transmitted disease. Sin begets its own consequence, both on individuals and nations.

http://www.washblade.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=8/11/06&end=8/19/06#8558

As someone who played football, he can kiss my lilly white ass!

[rudeboy666]

1. Granted

He was a homophobe. Bigot.

But how is his induction into the hall of fame 'honoring bigotry'?

What would you suggest the Hall do?

[William769]

2. This pretty much says it all.

" acknowledge Reggie White’s place in football history; he has earned it, and the ceremony and speeches his wife and son gave were indeed moving. But to watch back-to-back local news coverage of the event with absolutely no mention of his bigoted and hurtful views toward our community simply does not present the complete picture of the man, and is an insult to all of us who have experienced his particular version of “God’s love” face-to-face."

[Jamastiene]

3. That man's comments really irked me when he said them then.

Pete Rose can't get into the Baseball Hall of Fame because he was betting for his own team, yet this homophobe gets honored. It's a shame.

[William769]

4. Just goes to show that bigotry is tolerated

Some people just don't get it.

[Jamastiene]

5. I know what you mean.

If only we could prove that the bigotry is there. Unfortunately, many people do not see the bigotry and hatred directed at gay people as bigotry or hatred. It's sad really. I wonder how many of them know that many of their heroes in the past and in the present are actually gay?

I remember when George Michael was every straight woman's darling in this homophobic area where I live. When he came out, I saw a few attitudes change and many still listened to his music and changed their entire outlook. That is why I tried to be positive when Lance Bass recently came out. Finding out that sometimes straight "heroes" are really gay does change a few minds at the time.

That should be our goal. If we can only change a few minds at a time, at least is is still some kind of progress.

I am peronally not a big football fans because my main acquaintence to the sport was high school football. It may be a prejudice on my part, but I got the feeling that the homophobia was pretty widespread in that sport. Some of the baseball players in high school were more openminded. I would be friends with them only. One football player tried to get me to go out with him. It would never have worked anyway, because I like women. At that time, I was not out. I made sure to point out to him that I would not go out with him because he had that mentality against gay peole. Even in high school, a difference can be made, even if it is only a slight difference.

Too bad we can't do something about this latest honor given to a truly hateful person. Reggie White was a big disappointment to me. He had been trying to work on race issues, which I thought was great, then he said that crap. I am still disappointed about that, truthfully.