Give this guy a Nobel, a MacArthur grant...anything he wants

[Addison D.]

An amazing moment of intelligence, humour and freaking wonderful-ness from a punter (Okay--I don't know what that is...) for the Vikings (Okay--I don't know who they are....)

[PalJoey]

They're also both hot.

Brendon Ayanbedejo






Chris Kluwe

[tazber]

I read that politician's comment yesterday and (again) was bowled over by how little understanding so many elected officials have of the constitution, their job, and basic commons sense.

And the dude is a democrat. Just going to show once again that stupidity is bi-partisan.

[Addison D.]

PJ--Who's the dude in the Craigslist men-for-men hookup photo???

[Addison D.]

I'm so excited--I've always wanted to be one of those Dudes in a sports franchise jersey, but I never knew who any of the players were.


Buy a Chris Kluwe jersey

[romantico]

http://www.towleroad.com/2012/09/kluweed.html

[Addison D.]

>sigh...<

Punter McDreamy!

[Playbilly]

I follow sports (yes, theater and sports lover -- a mutant) and this is huge for players to take this stand. They need to be supported for it!

[Addison D.]

PB--I bought his jersey from an official NFL vendor and I've e-mailed the story to everybody in my contacts. What else can an eager and able-bodied Man do to be an >ahem< athletic supporter???

(Please don't make me go to Minnesota....)

[Addison D.]

Just when I thought I couldn't love this Man any more than I do, I found this picture of some of Chris Kluwe's favorite books that he tweeted during last year's NFL lockout.

He reads Charles Yu! To paraphrase my favorite Phyllis Rogers Stone quote--I think I may have an aneurysm...

[nygrl232]

I expected shirtlessness in this thread. And pa-ching, there it is.

[PalJoey]

PJ--Who's the dude in the Craigslist men-for-men hookup photo???

That's Chris Kluwe, the writer of the letter, on the left AND the right.

[strummergirl]

Again, like Playbilly said, this is always major news when a male professional athlete steps up to just be pro-gay rights. Very few sports teams did an 'It Gets Better' video and some teams just turned to doing anti-bullying largely because taking such a stand toward a specific anti-gay directed bullying was too out of players' 'comfort zone'. Homophobia is a notably rampant part of the professional jock culture to the point that the very few players who come out are already retired from the game. Heck, imagining an out gay athlete still active would be interesting on many levels, especially fan response (telling an athlete that they are gay is almost a default razz fans have toward an opponent). Taking a stand like Kluwe and Ayanbedejo may be seen as a baby step but seriously, having these kinds of guys having your back in the locker room can have tremendous impact for gay athletes.

[thetinymagic2]

Yeah, awesome. He was interviewed last night somewhere....

[EricMontreal22]

As Taz pointed out, this was already posted (OK, I don't click on every link...). But still very clue.

Addi--Garth Ennis' run on Hellblazer is my fave comic take over aside from Alan Moore and Swamp Thing. Preacher is awesome, even if Ennis delves into his love of hardcore violence, IMHO, a bit too much in parts.

[Addison D.]

I did not understand from Taz's comment that he had read about Kluwe here on the board--I apologize, belatedly, for the redundant thread. I've been away for a week and just did a cursory check of thread titiles--too cursory apparently--and thought the situation had not been addressed.


Eric--agreed on Hellblazer!

[tazber]

Lol, just to clarify:

Eric started a thread about this last evening. I linked this thread to let him know there was alreay a discussion going on about it.

This thread you started Addison is the original thread.

[Addison D.]

(Thanks for the clarification, Taz. Is there a mechanism for searching OT thread topics? It seems that the little magnifying glass field only yields threads from the main board? Maybe when they have a free minute, someone who knows can PM me the answer. )

I assume that all right-thinking people always have the NYTimes site open on their desktop, but in case I am wrong about that, here's a link to the Newspaper of Record's article this morning on l'affaire Kluwe. He has a gay brother-in-law, apparently, reminding us all of the overwhelming importance of coming out to our friends and families.

In addition to helping us, individually, lead happier, healthier, more fully-integrated lives, the benefits to the larger society can be enormous and are often un-predictable. If Kluwe's brother-in-law were closeted, Kluwe might well be another stereotypically closed-minded NFL jock. Instead, the personal connection to a gay man helped him find his way to being the GLAAD award shoo-in that he is today.



Link to NYT article

[NYadgal]

It's been great to see so many different friends sharing this on my Facebook feed. This is exactly the kind of story that needs to be shared widely. And celebrated.

Who knows, there may even be some new football fans among us! Try it, you'll like it!

[D2]

I just might, Addy, I just might.

[NYadgal]

Maybe I'll throw a viewing party for all you football newbies!

[Addison D.]

I couldn't agree more, Addy.

I so want to believe that this is epoch-making. I want this guy's perfect mix of attributes--smart, funny, brave, secure in his masculinity--to really effect a sea-change in how the jocks and the gays see and think about each other.

It's the same giddy, starry-eyed excitement I felt at the Democratic convention in 1992 when Bill Clinton gave a speech that made me believe that it really mattered who was president.

The same irrational, hopeful enthusiasm I felt on November 4th, 2008, when I thought we had somehow--miraculously--elected a man with the perfect mix of attributes to really effect a sea-change in how our government was run.

I post threads saying "I give up", but of course I never do. The universe keeps calling my bluff and sending just enough Hope to keep me fighting.

And now I own an official NFL jersey. Who woulda thunk it?

[NYadgal]

We can never give up!
And we can never lose Hope!

You never know when the next step forward will happen. We just have to know it WILL happen.

Wear that NFL jersey proudly!

[PalJoey]

I like football. They wear shiny tights over big thighs and butts and some of them can do high kicks.

It's just like musicals.

[PalJoey]

"Upon reflection," Delegate Burns backs down.


Baltimore Sun: Burns backs off bid to silence Ravens player

[tazber]

Well yea, of course he did.

But he should have realized this before opening his obnoxious mouth.

Douchebag.