Brendon Ayanbadejo plans to champion same-sex marriage at the Super Bowl

[HoustonRaven]

Here's a more detailed story about what BA plans to do ....

http://bruni.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...he-super-bowl/

I doubt very seriously he's not going to participate in team activities to voice his opinion. I bet he'll speak on it during press conferences, wear clothing with supporting comments, etc. but I'd be highly surprised he's going to miss any practice time.

[festivus]

Some of you guys are such hypocrites.

I keep my mouth shut when Matt Stover and Ray Lewis and Tim Tebow and whoever want to blab about their spirituality all the time. Hell, I *root* for those guys (except Tebow), both personally and professionally. More power to 'em.

Go ahead and celebrate the Lord if you want. That's easy, and even though I think it's mildly irritating I look past it. Standing up to bigots - perhaps bigots like you - takes real courage.

"It's a civil rights Issue. It's a human rights issue. It's not 'gay rights' -- It's just equal rights."

[ActualSpamBot]

Bigfish, I'm actually not gay, although I see how my sentence was worded oddly. I do consider myself an ally to the gay community however and spend a good amount of time working with the very organization that BA contacted.

[Flipping Birdie]

Thanks for the link. I think the Baltimoreravens.com article was a little misleading. After reading the source article [ http://bruni.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...he-super-bowl/ ] it looks like he'll use his free time in the next two weeks, and the resultant extra exposure due to the Super Bowl, to promote marriage equality. He also said he hope to appear on the Ellen Degeneres show AFTER the Super Bowl. Not exactly the same thing as championing same sex marriage *AT* the Super Bowl, as the Ravens in house media stated. I have no problem with him doing this, Birk doing the opposite, or Harbaugh or Lewis doing the same to glorify God. If any of them did that *AT* the Super Bowl I'd think that was bullshit.

[NCRAVEN]

He did do it on his own time. He sent the email during his team designated time off. There hasn't been any additional activity on this story, but the players do not spend 24 hours a day seven days a week prepping. Ray Rice, Torrey Smith, Terrell Suggs and others have all been active on facebook, chatting with fans. Justin Tucker has been posting instagram pictures like they're going out of style. BA has been trying to do something for a cause he believes in. Why exactly should that warrant a benching but the rest doesn't?

Like you said there hasn't been any additional activity on the story, so I was just going off the OP.

If it's like HR said, he just plans to wear a few shirts and talk about it in interviews when asked, okay, I have no problem with that. But "Championing" it seems like you're going to go above and beyond and take away from your responsibilities to prepare for the game, if not, than I don't care do as much as you'd like.

[ActualSpamBot]

If he were to open his media day interviews (and thanks to this announcement he will definitely be one of the players with a crowd on media day) by reading a brief statement in support of marriage equality, that would probably be reported as "championing marriage equality at the SuperBowl." And it would be a total non issue from a football preparedness standpoint.

I would bet money that whatever he does, it will be that or less. (My other thought is that he'll wear a NOH8 shirt during any event where cameras will be present. That would similarly be considered championing the gay marriage issue.)

[NCRAVEN]

If he were to open his media day interviews (and thanks to this announcement he will definitely be one of the players with a crowd on media day) by reading a brief statement in support of marriage equality, that would probably be reported as "championing marriage equality at the SuperBowl." And it would be a total non issue from a football preparedness standpoint.

I would bet money that whatever he does, it will be that or less. (My other thought is that he'll wear a NOH8 shirt during any event where cameras will be present. That would similarly be considered championing the gay marriage issue.)

How it's reported and what is actually championing are two entirely different things.

If that's all he did, so what.

[Everything_Ravens]

Women are also occasionally gay. And they can have sex right now as much as they want. The issue is legal equality.

The issue is legal equality! But when most people think about same sex marriage, be it men with men, or woman with woman they could care less about it from a legislative stand point. its a polarizing issue because of the effect that it will have on our children. The kids man the kids

So?

.....hey what ever floats yours man

[HoustonRaven]

....hey what ever floats yours man

[Bigfish]

Sorry, I misinterpreted what you had said. Obviously you have more than a passing interest in this. Reading some of these posts is good for my perspective on this. This is the Super Bowl and there will be media interviews and a lot of hoopla. Not all the questions will be football related. I expect he will have an opportunity to state his position on gay marriage, which should not bother anyone.

[HoustonRaven]

If he were to open his media day interviews (and thanks to this announcement he will definitely be one of the players with a crowd on media day) by reading a brief statement in support of marriage equality, that would probably be reported as "championing marriage equality at the SuperBowl." And it would be a total non issue from a football preparedness standpoint.

I would bet money that whatever he does, it will be that or less. (My other thought is that he'll wear a NOH8 shirt during any event where cameras will be present. That would similarly be considered championing the gay marriage issue.)

Agreed.

[ActualSpamBot]

The issue is legal equality! But when most people think about same sex marriage, be it men with men, or woman with woman they could care less about it from a legislative stand point. its a polarizing issue because of the effect that it will have on our children. The kids man the kids

There are mountains of data indicating that gay marriage has no negative effects on the children raised in said relationships. As for the issue of explaining gay relationships to YOUR kids, I will quote the esteem Louis Szekely who said:

'How am I supposed to explain to my child that two men are getting married?' I dunno, it's your shitty kid, you fuckin' tell 'em. Why is that anyone else's problem? Two guys are in LOVE but they can't get married because YOU don't want to talk to your ugly child for five fuckin' minutes?"

[Bazooka Joe]

That which is unGodly will fail.

[Everything_Ravens]

lol
i couldn't care less about explaining gay to children, not my issue.
But i love the when we resort to the "there are mountains of data" approach. As if we are all to dumb to use common sense, so instead must rely on modern science to get us all straightened out

[festivus]

lol
i couldn't care less about explaining gay to children, not my issue.
But i love the when we resort to the "there are mountains of data" approach. As if we are all to dumb to use common sense, so instead must rely on modern science to get us all straightened out

*chuckle*

You're so sure of your opinion you can't be bothered to look at facts.

edit: My own facts are that the kids of gay parents I know seem to be fine.

[Everything_Ravens]

That which is unGodly will fail.

and this is really what it comes down to but I'm not going to sit on a message board and preach to anybody. If you believe in the word of God as i do then you have every right to oppose this. If you don't which you are not forced to; you really are not bound to anything in this world and can do what ever you want. But when someone wants to recognize the union of marriage between humans and animals don't get all conscious on me then, but be consistent if you say gay marriage is ok.

[ActualSpamBot]

But i love the when we resort to the "there are mountains of data" approach. As if we are all to dumb to use common sense, so instead must rely on modern science to get us all straightened out

Common sense used to be that blacks were inherently too stupid to be more than slaves.
Common sense used to be that integration would lead to the downfall of society.
Common sense used to be that the earth was flat and the sun revolved around it.

Common sense used to say a lot of things before science, data, and research disproved it.

[ActualSpamBot]

. But when someone wants to recognize the union of marriage between humans and animals don't get all conscious on me then, but be consistent if you say gay marriage is ok.

Because two consenting adults is exactly the same as an adult and an animal incapable of understanding the concept of marriage right?

That bullshit argument was also a favorite of the people who believed that legalizing integrated marriage was unholy and ungodly.

[HoustonRaven]

and this is really what it comes down to but I'm not going to sit on a message board and preach to anybody. If you believe in the word of God as i do then you have every right to oppose this.

So I should mark you down as a woman beater? Because the Bible says that's cool too.

Pro slavery as well? Yep, that's the word of God too in some books.

It's one thing to have faith and I 100% support that.

It's quite another to do the same thing that radical Islamists do and read too much into whatever good book you choose to base that faith on.

[festivus]

and this is really what it comes down to but I'm not going to sit on a message board and preach to anybody. If you believe in the word of God as i do then you have every right to oppose this. If you don't which you are not forced to; you really are not bound to anything in this world and can do what ever you want. But when someone wants to recognize the union of marriage between humans and animals don't get all conscious on me then, but be consistent if you say gay marriage is ok.

Of course you have a right to oppose this.

You also have a right to oppose science.

But don't pretend you are being rational, don't pretend gay people can't raise children, and don't pretend this isn't *precisely* like Ray Lewis or Matt Stover going all religious, when what's really happening here is your religious beliefs are coloring your view of the world and you know it. Don't dress up your personal religious beliefs and call them "common sense."

You want to treat gays like second class citizens because of your faith and you want people who disagree with you to shut up.

That's ok, but admit it, and then deal with it.