Chris Clemons is not on board with the idea of an openly gay NFL player.
As speculation has risen about when a current player will come out, the Seattle Seahawks defensive end shared his thoughts through a series of Twitter posts. Though he stressed that he’s not homophobic himself, Clemons said he doesn’t think it would be good if an NFL player were openly gay.
Within the last week, speculation has grown over whether the NFL will soon see its first openly gay player. A report by Mike Freeman of CBS Sports this week noted that a still-unnamed player is considering coming out within the next few months.
The league has seen a growing number of players speak out in support of LGBT issues in the past few years, the most vocal among them Chris Kluwe of the Minnesota Vikings and free agent linebacker Scott Fujita.
Even New England Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowsk i said he would have no problem with a gay teammate.
“I got this question before, about a year ago, and I basically will say the same answer that I did a year ago,” Gronkowski said Wednesday in an interview with Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco on ESPN Radio New York . “You’ve got to accept the player. Everyone has their own ways to live their life and as long as he’s respecting me, keeping distance, respecting myself, I’ll respect him back.
“If he’s being a great teammate and he’s a guy on the field doing a great job, well then you’ve got nothing to complain about. He’s another teammate and another friend.”
Chris Clemons doesn’t seem to share the sentiment, though his concerns seem to stem from fear of locker room discord.
@ ryanjamesdio it doesn’t matter how good they are. That will immediately separate a lockerroom and divide a team.
— Christopher Clemons (@chrisclemons91) March 26, 2013
But if the reports from CBS are true, it may not matter if Chris Clemons is comfortable with an openly gay NFL player or not — it’s happening regardless.