Athletes stand up for gay marriage
(CNN) — The times are certainly changing in the world of sports. New York Rangers forward Sean Avery, a guy more known for hard knocks than big causes, came out in support of marriage for committed gay and lesbian couples in New York earlier this month — a professional athlete taking a very public stand in an arena too many in sports traditionally avoid.
While we salute Sean Avery for having the courage of his convictions, we probably shouldn’t be surprised. A majority of the American public is now — for the first time — in favor of marriage equality, so it isn’t really shocking that professional athletes would be as well.
Naturally, you can’t talk about marriage equality without the usual bullshit from homophobes:
Still, the ugly retorts predictably arrived — even from Canada, where loving gay couples have been allowed nationwide to marry since 2005. Don Reynolds, the president of Uptown Sports Management, told Canada’s National Post, “The majority, I think, of Canadians would say that they don’t agree with gay marriage — that man and woman were created to be married, not man and man or man and horse, you know?” Reynolds’s son Todd, vice-president of the company, tweeted: “Very sad to read Sean Avery’s misguided support of same-gender ‘marriage.’ Legal or not, it will always be wrong.”
What the fuck is up with homophobes and bestiality? Why is it always “man and horse” or “man and dog” or “man and [insert random animal off the top of your head]”? Do I want to know what’s in their Internet history?
Thankfully, there are plenty who slammed the homophobes:
Agent Andrew Warren noted, “I felt the need to return to Twitter due to my distaste of @uptownhockey take on the issue of gay marriage.” And NHL star Paul Bissonnette tweeted, “I agree with Sean Avery… If 2 people are happy together let them be happy.”
Progress is a good thing.