Beefcake For Equality

What the hell happened to football? It used to be the sport of the roughest and the toughest. Grrrr. Men being men. Grrrrr. Smash. Tackle. Clip. Throw. Grrrr. Now, football is, well, it's coming out for marriage equality. No, really. There are two football players are speaking out against discrimination.

First we had Baltimore Ravens Brendon Ayanbadejo who wrote an article for the Huffington Post supporting marriage equality, saying: "I think we will look back in 10, 20, 30 years and be amazed that gays and lesbians did not have the same rights as every one else. How did this ever happen in the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

Land of the free, indeed. And Brendan is quite brave, considering his chosen profession, to come out for equality.

And now we have defensive captain of the New Orleans Saints, Scott Fujita, who says: "People could look at this issue without blinders on...the blinders imposed by their church, their parents, their friends or, in our case, their coaches and locker rooms. I wish they would realize that it's not a religion issue. It's not a government issue. It's not even a gay/straight issue or a question of your manhood. It's a human issue. And until more people see that, we're stuck arguing with people who don't have an argument."

So, again I ask, what the hell happened to football? Used to be a sport of brawn over brains; used to be a sport of tackling and hitting and, well, this one sounds a bit gay, sacking. Now, it's a sport where two successful players, still playing the game, are speaking out on a subject that was previously thought to be taboo in the world of sports.

Thanks, from me, to Brendan and Scott. I may just have to start watching the games. Tight uniform's, bulging arms, beefy thighs. And compassion.