It seems that each day there is another story about gays in sports in the mainstream media, with the NFL being a hot topic. Chris Clemons of the Seattle Seahawks said last week that an openly gay player would be “selfish” and make himself “bigger than the team.” Chris Kluwe of the Minnesota Vikings and Connor Barwin of the Philadelphia Eagles countered that a gay player would not be a distraction.
You want distractions? How about these guys? This list is from Pro Football Talk's police blotter, which tracks incidents among NFL players. These are just from 2013:
3/26/13: Amari Spievey is arrested for third-degree assault, risk of injury to a child and disorderly conduct.
3/22/13: Trumaine Johnson is arrested for DUI.
3/20/13: Evan Rodriguez is arrested for disorderly conduct.
3/9/13: Quinton Carter is arrested for committing fraud in a casino.
3/7/13: Javarris James is arrested for failure to appear in court.
2/24/13: Desmond Bryant is arrested for criminal mischief.
2/23/13: Brandon Barden is arrest for DUI.
2/20/13: Al Netter is arrested for DUI.
2/18/13: Da’Quan Bowers is arrested for criminal possession of a weapon.
1/29/13: Leroy Hill is arrested for domestic violence.
1/22/13: Jay Ratliff is arrested for DUI.
1/17/13: Andre Smith is arrested for trying to bring a handgun aboard an airplane.
1/10/13: Chris Rainey is arrested for slapping his girlfriend in an argument over a cell phone.
1/8/13: Rolando McClain is arrested after giving false name to police.
1/4/13: Robert Sands is arrested for assault and domestic violence.
I don't recall Clemons talking about these players being selfish and making themselves bigger than the team. But then again, they've only been arrested. They did not do something really shocking like come out of the closet.
