New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma against demonstrated how he can act like a close-minded jerk, this time in an interview with Andrea Kramer for NFL Network on the locker room that aired Super Bowl Sunday. When asked about having a gay teammate, he said he doesn’t want one:

"I think he would not be accepted as much as we think he would be accepted. I don't want people to just naturally assume, oh, we're all homophobic. That's really not the case. Imagine if he's the guy next to me, and you know, I get dressed, naked, taking a shower, the whole nine, and it just so happens he looks at me, how am I supposed to respond?"

Ummmm — how about you respond the same way you respond when any man glances at you in the shower? You just keep shootin' the shit. He doesn't give a crap about your manhood, especially when it's attached to someone with asshole tendencies.

Or how about you make a joke of it:

  • "No, you can't have none of this."
  • "I'm so telling your boyfriend you stole a peek."
  • "Sorry, you're not my type."

Vilma goes the other direction, talking about how that player wouldn't be accepted and how uncomfortable he'd feel. How about how uncomfortable that gay teammate — which you've likely had in the last two to three years — feels being around you!

All this from the man who once tweeted: “Grown men should NOT have female tendencies. Period.”

There is some serious insecurity going on in Vilma's head. He's played with gay teammates, he just doesn't know it. Vilma's so caught up in this macho nonsense that just being naked in the room with a gay man creeps him out. It certainly makes me think all the accusations about his involvement with the bounty incident were 100% true — typical of that kind of guy.

Luckily, Vilma’s attitude is in the distinct minority in the NFL. Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ike Taylor, on the other hand, sees the issue for what it is:

"Regardless of who it is, straight or gay," Taylor said, "if he's on this team, he's a teammate of mine."

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