In what some see as a quasi-victory, New York Jets linebacker and self-described devout Christian Christian DeMario Davis went public Thursday in his support of gay athletes. In an interview with the Daily News, Davis appeared supportive of the idea of playing with other members of his team who were gay. “If someone was to come out on our team, we’re a team that’s about winning,” Davis said. “When it comes to the (Jets), I put my personal beliefs separate from the team.”
But moments later, during that same interview, Davis made sure to add that his religious beliefs inform his worldview. ““According to the scriptures, and God’s law, homosexuality is wrong. The act is wrong,” Davis said. “I’ve got homosexuals in my family who I love to death. I’ve got drunks in my family. I’ve got people who have premarital sex in my family. And I don’t agree with any of those things, but I still love and respect those people.”
The response comes on the heels of news that Jason Collins, the center for the Washington Wizards, came as gay making him the first man on a professional North American sports franchise to publicly come out while still playing.
And while there has been some blowback to Collins’ announcement, some of it far less nuanced than Davis’, his reaction, he admits, comes from many of the angry responses generated by ESPN sport commentator Chris Broussard’s now famous statement that being gay was an “open rebellion against God.”
“What really made me upset was when people began to attack Chris Broussard,” Davis said. “It’s important for me to do interviews of this nature, to talk about faith and political views and religious views because, it’s very important that the entire scope of the thinking is understood, versus just one set of views on a particular act.”
Davis, while skirting specifics, spoke of his own struggles in college with alcohol and pre-marital sex but it is assumed that homosexuality was not among them. “If you have a problem with someone being against homosexuality your problem isn’t with me, your problem is against God,” Davis said.
AM-News : Jets linebacker, devout Christian, Christian DeMario Davis OK playing with gay …: In what some see as… http://t.co/RzeApHUoLa
Hmm kind of a misleading title for this article no? The article ends with Davis saying you are “Against God” if you disapprove of homophobia, but the headline implies that he’s doing his part to discourage homophobia in the NFL.
Don’t get me wrong, not hating on DeMario, its the world we live in where virtually all athletes are homophobic to some extent. Somewhat interesting though that both players that came out in full support of gay rights (Brendan Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe) both got cut over the summer.