Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies by Chris Kluwe — Page 2

^ I think he recognizes that it's probably over for him in the NFL. What hasn't been mentioned is that 2 weeks after he was released by the Vikings in May, he was signed by the Oakland Raiders to be their punter since they just lost their All-Pro punter to free agency. However, he was beaten out in training camp for the job by a 2nd year guy who went on to have a great season for the Raiders (one of their very few brightspots). The Raiders have always been a haven for rebels and outspoken players with large personalities and there is no reason to believe his not making the team was due to anything other than another candidate for the role performing better during the training camp and pre-season.

While Kluwe has been most vocal about same-sex marriage, he has also been vocal about other things as well including criticizing some star players for being greedy during the 2011 NFL strike for in his view, holding up a settlement and criticizing NFL Hall of Fame voters for not giving fair consideration to punters for Hall of Fame selection. He's developed a reputation as vocal and outspoken in an environment that doesn't welcome that about anything, not just same-sex marriage. I'm not saying that's good or bad but that's the reality of playing in the NFL. Because of some of his other comments, he also hasn't endeared himself to some of the elite players who could have been effective support for him in speaking out about same-sex marriage.

Punters in the NFL in general have never gotten much respect since they are not usually in the trenches getting hit. They are viewed as players who "never get their uniform dirty" and are felt to be easily interchangeable. Truth be told, in 2012 Kluwe statistically ranked 24th out of 33 punters and was coming off off-season surgery. Is he good enough to still kick in the NFL? Probably, but there are probably a dozen other out of work veteran punters and placekickers of whom you could say the same thing.

I'm sharing all this not because I don't believe him or have any issue with his speaking out but to provide a little fuller perspective to those who may not follow the NFL that closely and think he is a star who is getting blackballed strictly because of his comments on same-sex marriage. The NFL has a history of forgiving and re-employing people who've done jail time for felonies because it was felt they could help the team win. If a team really felt Kluwe was a star who could make a big difference on a team that needed him, I don't have any doubt someone would sign him. It didn't stop the Raiders from doing so after he was cut by the Vikings. Unfortunately, well paid punters who are a bit past their prime have a difficult time in general and his reputation of being outspoken about a number of things isn't going to work in his favor.

Strummergirl,

I'm confused. I thought that you were asking me about what ESPN had to say on the matter, and I told you. Furthermore, I did mention some issues that i have with them. And, in addition, I pointed out that you're very vocal against them (which is fine.) But, that I don't feel that they are as vile as you make them out to be, which is why I said we had to agree to disagree on that particular matter.I simply said that on ESPN they felt that his viewpoints aren't the reason why he isn't playing anymore.

In any event, I do find it interesting what it is the NFL fans/teams would look past in terms of past transgressions and what they won't. They would forgive someone like Michael Vick (sent to jail for training and hosting dog fights), or Ben Rothlesburger (two accusations of rape from two different women.) But, when it comes to being vocal about gay marriage, a topic of controversy in a very macho league like the NLF, that's where they have a problem.

For what it's worth, I can get behind the notion of, at work, leaving your issues political, religious or otherwise at the door. That's a school of thought that isn't exclusive to the world of sports. But, I applaud Kluwe for what he did, because it seems to me that he went through all the proper channels within the Viking organization to be able to do so, but they, in the end, turned their back on him.

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"We should round up all the gays, send them to an island.."

They did. It's called Manhattan!

Also, Whoopi explained that dog fighting is a cultural thing. That makes it different than gay marriage.

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