Chris Kluwe has already come out in defense of same-sex marriage , but now the Minnesota Vikings punter has taken his commitment one step further by posing shirtless in OUT Magazine to make his support even more clear.
Kluwe recently told CNN :
“To me, this fight is about equality and human rights. The fact is, there are Americans who pay taxes and serve in our military — who defend this country — who do not receive the same legal protections as the rest of us. To me, that’s flat-out discrimination. That’s the same as segregation or suffrage.”
Kluwe, who is not gay himself, said it is important for him to define himself as more than a “dumb jock.”
” … [W]hile I enjoyed athletics growing up, I also enjoyed reading and video games, and athletic sport is not what defines me as a person. I think as more and more generations start rising through the NFL, a lot of these kids see that it’s OK to be something other than an athlete,” Kluwe told OUT’s Cyd Zeigler.
Kluwe told CNN that he believes there is a more tolerant atmosphere in the NFL now, but it was impossible to know if the league would accept an openly gay player until one comes out. Kluwe has also recently sent out invitations to 10 prominent Minnesota Republicans to debate same-sex marriage, but has not received a response so far.
While Kluwe isn’t looking to move from football to politics any time soon, he did say that he simply wanted to speak out for those who are not being properly represented.
“It shouldn’t be news when someone speaks out for equality, Kluwe said. “It should be news when someone speaks out against it.”
[Photo credit: David Bowman/ OUT Magazine]