Three sports posts in a row? I know, I’m amazed too. My dad will be so proud, just as soon as he figures out how the internet works.
Chris Kluwe has become something of a symbol for equality in the NFL, when he wrote an absolutely hilarious piece in support of gay marriage and Brandon Ayanbadejo’s pro-gay stance. Well, more delightful words have found their way from Chris’s head on to twincities.com, and they’re definitely worth a read.
One conversation I had that will stick with me for the rest of my life involved a local high school teacher/coach. He walked up, introduced himself, shook my hand and said these exact words: “I want to thank you for speaking up. What you did will save children’s lives.”
AdvertisementThis really hit me, in a primal way I was not expecting. A man who interacts with our youth every day, who sees their struggles, and their triumphs, and their failures, told me that my words meant a child might find hope for the future instead of despair, might dare to believe he or she could be accepted for who they are, not what someone else said they should be.
Do you know how exceedingly ANGRY PUMA GROWL that is? A child should never have to feel that way. A child should never think that suicide is the only option, the only solution to the tormenting and bullying and unthinking viciousness adults so unwittingly pass along to the young. A child should never become a casualty in a war of oppression, of bigotry, of petty small mindedness.
Admittedly, it’s a little more heartfelt and earnest than his previous bout of righteously funny idiot-shaming, but it’s definitely incredibly well written and touching in a different way. Plus, it’s good to know that not everyone in the NFL is a dog-fighting asshole. I’m looking at you, Vick.
Why you can trust Xtra
