The San Francisco 49ers were the first NFL team to tape a gay rights ad for the It Gets Better campaign. Unfortunately, they are also the first NFL team to get their ad pulled by the organization.
Why? Well, the 49ers haven’t been saying the nicest things about the gay community lately. Defensive back Chris Culliver said recently that a gay football player would not be welcome in an NFL locker room. (He later apologized for his comments .)
To make things worse, linebacker Ahmad Brooks and tackle Isaac Sopoaga apparently forgot that they made a pro gay rights video. Brooks and Sopoaga had their memories jogged when they were shown the “It Gets Better” video but both players denied knowing that they had made the video to promote gay rights. Brooks and Sopoaga said they thought that they were making an anti-bullying ad.
And maybe that’s true. One of the goals of the “It Gets Better” is to stop bullying against LGBT youths. But why were they so defensive? Why were they offended at the thought of making a pro gay rights video?
Brooks and Sopoaga didn’t want their name associated with the Gay Rights Campaign and now it looks like the gay rights organization doesn’t want anything to do with the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers video may no longer be available on the It Gets Better website but you can still see it on Youtube.
Did the “It Gets Better” campaign make the right call by pulling the 49ers gay rights ad?