Didn’t anybody ever teach 49ers player Chris Culliver that if you don’t have anything nice to say to not say anything at all? During the week’s media days, reporters were given a new storyline besides Ray Lewis retiring and the 49ers were given a new headache. The purpose of these days is to allow the media to ask players anything they want and some of the questions can be pretty ridiculous. Normally players just go along with the antics, but Culliver decided to give a pretty controversial answer.
During a radio interview with Artie Lang, the topic of openly homosexual players in the locker room. Lang asked how the team would feel and Culliver replied, “I don’t do the gay guys man. I don’t do that. Can’t be with that sweet stuff. Nah … can’t be … in the locker room man. Nah.”
I’m not sure if Culliver expected his teammates to have his back on this, but they definitely did not. Most players actually spoke the complete opposite of Culliver saying things like the guys in the locker room are one big family and everyone is accepted for who they are.” As expected, the 49ers went into serious damage control and said that they do not condone Culliver’s comments and have handled it internally.
I think the biggest problem is the amount of hatred Culliver displayed. This should be the most exciting time in your entire life and you want to make hateful remarks? That’s disgusting and more importantly ignorant. Does it really make a difference if one of the players is gay? Does it really make you view them differently as a football player? Comments like this make it so hard for people struggling to come out of the closet to feel accepted. I really believe that the 49ers should not allow Culliver to play in the Super Bowl. It is an extreme measure, but his words were just that out of line.
The NFL is so worried about player safety which is great, but the NFL should also fine players for public comments like this. Bullying is one of the more serious issues in this country and it starts with what children see on television. Judging people based on race, sexual orientation, or religion is the most unprofessional thing you can do on the biggest stage in sports. If I was in that locker room, I would rather have a homosexual teammate over this narrow-minded guy any day.
