(Update: Fresno State president issues statement saying he is “deeply troubled by the homophobic slurs.” See below.)
It started out like a normal college football Saturday evening in Fresno, albeit with a little more excitement than usual. The nationally-ranked Bulldogs, for the first time in school history, were hosting another ranked team at home. And it wasn’t just any team. It was Big Ten heavyweight Wisconsin coming to Bulldog Stadium, and the game promised to be thrilling. It was long ago sold out, and a standing-room-only crowd clad almost entirely in red was on its way to the stadium by car, bus and foot. What fans encountered as they approached the stadium though, was something for which Fresno State shouldn’t be too proud.
The first thing noticeable — in addition to the thousands of red-clad fans walking towards the stadium — was a group of men dressed mostly in suits gathered near the intersection where Cedar and Barstow avenues meet. Wearing suits to a football game? That’s something you rarely see anywhere, but especially in central California on a 90-degree, late Summer evening.
In addition to the group of approximately six to eight men wearing suits (which can best be described as ill-fitting), there were at least two men displaying large “sandwich board” type signs as though they were advertising something. A closer look revealed that the thing they were advertising was hate. The messages on those sandwich boards referred to the “evils” of being gay, calling the GLBT community “sinners,” and saying homosexuality was wrong. Signs were held by these protesters that proclaimed marriage to be only between one man and one woman. With California’s Proposition 8 on the ballot in November, the group’s intentions were obvious. The proposition seeks to overturn California’s recently enacted law allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state.
It was as though I’d ventured into a college football stadium and a Cher concert broke out. I remember several years ago standing in line to enter a concert featuring the pop diva (during one of her numerous farewell tours) and being subjected to similar homophobia complete with anti-gay signs. Before that concert, however, the homophobia was a little more subdued, and far less in-your-face. No literature being passed out. No interaction between fans and protesters. Just a somewhat pathetic looking group holding anti-gay signs that made concert goers roll their eyes. Needless to say, the differences between a crowd attending a Cher concert and a Fresno State football game are entirely different. While the concert attendees were more forgiving and definitely of the live-and-let-live variety, Saturday’s homophobic protesters played much differently in front of the mostly conservative football crowd.
The men dressed in suits (some equipped with odd sashes as though they’d just been crowned Homecoming King, and another in full highlander regalia complete with the accompanying bagpipes) were standing in a prime location near the school’s softball diamond where thousands of spectators who’d just been dropped off on the university-sponsored shuttle buses were making the short walk to the football stadium across the street.
The group, apparently affiliated with an ultra conservative group touting Tradition, Family and Property, proceeded to distribute hate-filled literature to the crowd that included such thought-provoking information as, “Legalization of same-sex marriage creates a terrible problem of conscience, “ ”Same-sex marriage harms the common good,” and the always intriguing, “We are opposing the homosexual moral revolution and battling for the soul of America.”
Football fans passed by and were handed pamphlets entitled, “10 Reasons Why Homosexual Marriage is Harmful and Must be Opposed.” At least one fan responded with the obligatory “f’ing faggots,” comment (but with the expletive intact). “Dudes getting married? That ain’t right,” said another fan who then looked around as if he was expecting a high-five from fellow fans. A 60ish gentleman, who was in Bulldog garb and holding hands with what I can only assume is his wife, made the strangest comment of all. He walked directly up to one of the protesters, shook his hand and thanked him. “Keep up the good work,” he said. “Thanks for all you do,” he told the anti-gay hate monger.
Ah! Saturday college football. Nothing screams pigskin like a pig (with or without the lipstick).
Attempts to confront the protesters would almost certainly have been futile, given the pre-game setting and an environment where drinking was the norm, and the home crowd was already a bit on edge. The opponent — 10th ranked Wisconsin — brought upwards of 3,000 of its own fans to the game, and while it didn’t result in the fan-on-fan nastiness that sometimes results during, say, a Fresno State-Hawaii matchup, there was a certain element of friction surrounding the game as early as 90 minutes before it started. Badgers head coach Bret Bielema said this of his reception from Bulldogs fans on his way into the stadium, “There were several interesting discussions about my history and ancestry.”
Imagine a tailgate crowd in Tuscaloosa, and then transport them to the San Joaquin Valley. Fresno State has a knowledgeable football crowd and a devoted fan base that is the envy of nearly every school not affiliated with the Bowl Championship Series. If Stanford and Cal are cheese and wine, Fresno State is clearly meat and potatoes. This was not the environment in which to confront anti-gay hate, and there appeared to be no university officials monitoring the situation, which certainly on its face had the potential to become violent.
What makes all of this more alarming is where this took place. On campus. As fans were on their way to a football game. And there were no visible indications anyone was unhappy or upset with the protesters, or that their presence seemed out of the ordinary! All of this at a school where the sports discussion has been more about winning in a court of law than winning games on the field for the past year. Literally within spitting distance of the outfield at Bulldog Diamond, the school’s softball stadium where head coach Margie Wright has coached her team to 27 consecutive NCAA tournaments, the best streak in the country. A few months ago, Wright was awarded approximately $600,000 in a settlement with the university after originally filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights citing gender discrimination back in 2004. Wright is one of several female coaches, administrators and staff members who have either settled discrimination cases against the university or won court cases against Fresno State in just the past 15 months.
Former Fresno State women’s basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein, fired by the university in March of 2005, alleged sexual discrimination and was awarded an astonishing $19.1 million following a tension-filled, 8-week trial that concluded in December 2007. That amount was later reduced to around $6.6 million. According to a report from the Women’s Sports Foundation, Johnson-Klein’s lawsuit alleged that the Fresno State athletic department had a long-standing pattern of discriminating against women coaches, specifically those who are lesbian or who complained that women’s teams were not receiving funding or support equal to men’s. Johnson-Klein alleged she was told, “that lesbian coaches were not to be hired” at Fresno State.
Former women’s volleyball coach Lindy Vivas, the winningest coach in her sport in school history and three-time Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, was fired in 2004 but won a $5.85 million verdict against Fresno State in July 2007. That amount was later reduced to approximately $4.5 million. As part of her claim, according to the campus newspaper The Collegian, Vivas (pictured in this Associated Press photo, hugging her mother following the verdict’s announcement) said the university discriminated against her because of her perceived sexual orientation.
Eleven months ago, former athletic administrator Diane Milutinovich settled with the university for approximately $3.5 million in yet another sexual discrimination case. Milutinovich alleged that Fresno State reassigned her and ultimately fired her after she spoke up for equal treatment for female athletes on campus.
In a statement issued less than three months ago in response to a state legislative inquiry into the lawsuits and the alleged discrimination on the Fresno State campus, university president John D. Welty said the following, “I do not and I have not tolerated discrimination at Fresno State. I act when any discrimination is found.” He continued, “These lawsuits may indicate some past problems in athletics at Fresno State, but they do not reflect today’s new era in Bulldog athletics. Nor do they reflect our reality at Fresno State as the university of opportunity for everyone.”
Given the legal cases and the events of the past year, it’s not surprising that the area around Bulldog Stadium became fertile ground for a group of hate solicitors. While the anti-gay group may argue about their right to free speech, does Fresno State bear any responsibility? Is this a public image the school really wants to portray after a year of lawsuits?
An e-mail was sent to president Welty as early as Monday morning following the Saturday evening game, along with two separate follow-up e-mails. Welty was asked if the school planned to offer any sort of apology to GLBT fans who were forced to encounter this hate speech on their way to the football game, and he was asked if the university planned to denounce the group’s anti-gay agenda or post any response on the official school web site. Welty responded Wednesday in a written statement saying he was awaiting additional information on this issue and would outline the steps the university plans to take as soon as he gets all the facts.
Update: University president Welty, on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008, issued the following statement:
“Some fans who attended last Saturday’s football game at Bulldog Stadium question why advocates of Proposition 8 (proposed state constitutional amendment that would recognize as valid only marriage between a man and a woman) were allowed to confront them as they arrived for the game.
Reports indicated that the advocates stood on public sidewalks adjacent to the campus and the stadium. As the crowd grew, University Police Department officers asked them to move and they did so, walking to a public sidewalk in front of the Bulldog Shop.
Fresno State does not and will not tolerate discrimination against individuals because of sexual orientation. I am deeply troubled by the homophobic slurs on signs these people carried aimed at our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. I find this type of expression to not meet the civility that I would expect in a political campaign.
We at Fresno State support freedom of speech and the right of people to engage in civil political debate, but we do not support the use of language which lacks civility and promotes hatred.”
on Sep 17th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
F*cking Straights…
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 5:36 am
Is anyone else old enough here to remember when fundamentalist Christians used to behave this way toward Blacks?
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 7:38 am
In the late 80s, I was co-chair of the Lesbian & Gay Student Union at Arizona State. I attended a convention in Fresno for LGB student clubs and was totally shocked to see the KKK in full garb driving around the Fresno State campus with threatening signs. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Never felt the need to spend much time in the Central Valley after that!
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 9:55 am
It’s ironic the writer can’t stick to the facts: the comments about “sinners” as written above are contrary to the facts. Want proof?
Go to these links to see the signs in use:
http://tfp.org/index.php/?option=com_content&task=view&id=1090
http://tfp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1084
http://tfp.org/index.php/?option=com_content&task=view&id=1089
However, to see what happened at Berkeley, be sure to check this one out:
http://www.tfp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1087&Itemid=114 where on Sept 8 - “Pro-homosexual activists steal, vandalize and burn TFP fliers at Berkeley”
Be sure to check out that TFP website, for the other side of the story!
http://tfp.org/
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
why do you think that what they were doin was wrong.??? if it was gay rights group there promoting there view it would have been a free speech issue…..why not allow others to have the same right….
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Too bad for TFP that in less than two months, California voters will affirm the rights of gay people to marry.
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
“why do you think that what they were doin was wrong.??? if it was gay rights group there promoting there view it would have been a free speech issue…..why not allow others to have the same right…”
Because what they do is incite hatred and spread lies, not “promote” their views.
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I am a student at Fresno State and up until last year they would allow this type of demonstration ON CAMPUS. The demonstrations would be held in our “free speech” area. “Preacher Man” as he was commonly referred to, would carry such signs as “GOD Hates FAGS” and “ADAM and EVE not ADAM and STEVE” while telling students they were going to hell. The university got involved after he assaulted a student.
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I see whackos like these all across the country on my travels(maybe not always spreading anti-gay hate, but of the same ilk). It never ceases to make me wonder, who the hell actually starts to attend services of these groups or suddenly changes their opinion on a viewpoint after seeing these people in front of a sporting event? Go back to assisting those in dire need and such instead of preaching garbage to a bunch of people who are there to have a good time.
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
The anti-gay groups are certainly within their rights to demonstrate and hand out literature.
I and millions like me support groups like this and their cause. The one man, one woman marriage amendment will be on our Arizona ballot and it should pass because gays and their agenda(s) are bad for everyone, except the gays.
We have a hell of a lot more important issues to be concerned with other than allowing some guy to do another guy.
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
“We have a hell of a lot more important issues to be concerned with other than allowing some guy to do another guy.”
Confused by your logic — if we have more important issues, why should you care what some guy does to another guy?
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Poor “Looking In.” He/she doesn’t realize that he/she is a dinosaur whose time is coming to an end. With every passing minute those who think like him/her are becoming extinct. Enjoy those final moments in your tar pit, hater!
on Sep 18th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
It’s funny how all these “GAY HATERS” just happen
to be on a GAY WEBSITE!!??
I liken it to all those other GAY HATIN’ Preachers and Ministers who end up getting ARRESTED for SUCKING C*CK in AIRPORT BATHROOMS!
If there really is a God, he must be ashamed of how bad these “Compasionate and Loving” Religious Nuts make him look.
on Sep 19th, 2008 at 12:55 am
on Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:07 am
YES WE HAVE THE RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH—BUT IT IS NOT ABSOLUTE. wHEN THESE FOLKS BEGIN TO INCITE HATRED IN OTHERS THAT IS WHERE THE LINE IS DRAWN. Even Justice John Marshal and Oliver Wendall Holmes recognized that one can not shot FIRE! in a crowded theatre or you will have a riot with injuries and deaths that would not have occured other wise. In Canada these folks can not use religion as an excuse to do evil—and that is the way it should be here.
I am all for the right of free speech and free expression until it crosses the line and that is what these people have done. I have seen their work first hand. They and Fred Phelps have gone around the country illegally harrassing and influencing legistlatures to make their church laws civil laws. The so-called research institute from Arizona told a bunch of lies and falsehoods in South Carolina to get their wish that marriage can only be between a man and a woman in the State Constitution.
A new day is coming if O’bama is elected and he does as he has promised. These folks will no longer get their way as they have with Bush II. They will have to force up to centralizing their Chruches so that they can enforce their canons on their membership instead of making these religious laws civil laws–which is illegal since Church and State are separate.
on Sep 19th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I think the most interesting part in all of this is that they went to a relatively safe zone for their views. They knew in the sports community there are very few people that will stand up for LGBT rights so they are catering to their own crowd. The long-standing tradition of accepted and encouraged homophobia in the athletic departments of “higher learning” seems to be the larger problem for all of us in the sports community. And Fresno State has had far too many instances of apologies rather than pro-active actions. Soon they may need to switch their mascot to Fighting Biggots rather than the Bulldogs.
on Sep 20th, 2008 at 7:09 am
I thought you all might find this to be of interest:
Marriage Proponents Physically Assaulted in Santa Rosa, California
Contact: John Ritchie, Student Action Director, The American TFP, 717-495-5427, jritchie@tfp.org
SANTA ROSA, Calif., Sept. 17 /Christian Newswire/ — Volunteers with the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP) were assaulted on September 5th while distributing literature in support of traditional marriage at Santa Rosa Junior College.
TFP volunteers are participating in a 30-day tour of cities and colleges across California to educate the public on the importance of preserving traditional marriage.
After shouting obscenities at a TFP volunteer, a supporter of same-sex marriage slapped him as he filmed the demonstration. Although he managed to avert the blow, the assailant hit his camera disabling the settings.
In a separate incident at the same demonstration, another supporter of “gay marriage” threw hot coffee at the face of a different volunteer.
“This shows the contempt for First Amendment rights of proponents of gay marriage,” said Cesar Franco, TFP Asst. Student Action Director. “While demanding tolerance for what they call ‘diversity,’ they are utterly intolerant of opposing viewpoints.”
TFP, a Catholic organization, was distributing flyers titled “Ten Reasons Why Homosexual ‘Marriage’ Is Harmful and Must Be Opposed.” It calls on Californians to firmly and peacefully resist the advance of the so-called gay-rights movement.
In June, the California Supreme Court forced same-sex “marriage,” on the state. Tradition Family and Property believes the decision will undermine the family unit, harm the nation’s moral foundation and jeopardize the innocence of children.
The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property was founded in 1973 by a group of concerned Catholics to lead an intellectual resistance to liberalism, socialism and communism, and to affirm the positive values of tradition family and property.
Visit http://www.tfp.org for more information on the activities and philosophy of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property.
on Sep 20th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Just wondering if those physical assaults reported in my prior post are examples of the “tolerance” and “peace” some of you seem to advocate…
on Sep 20th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Look, it’s another dinosaur. Keep thrashing about as you slowly sink into that tar pit. Extinction of your kind — haters — is at hand, Charles! Repent before it’s too late!
on Sep 21st, 2008 at 12:44 am
Joe,
What’s a dinosaur?
As for hating, you’ve got the wrong fellow. I’m a very loving person.
Wrap your mind around that one!
on Sep 21st, 2008 at 8:12 am
What the right-wing extremists are preaching is mainly hatred. And…they want people to accept them in the name of freedom of expression. We unfortunately have such fellows here in Turkey (mainly the Islamists and nationalists…by the way, in my view, there is only a thin line between nationalism and racism/bigotry). Their intolerance and bigotry make me sick.
Besides…as one poster rightly put it, why are they so concerned about how two guys or two women want to live their lives.
Anti_fascist
on Sep 21st, 2008 at 12:21 pm
that stinks!
how inappropriate. don’t they know that without gay people there would be no football…. or uh.. Emmy’s.
but don’t they know that without gay women there would be far fewer fans on the couch on sunday.
Today is my slug day… Football, couch, remote. That’s all I need. I have to get something done today? No way.
I have officially declared today a slug day.
on Sep 21st, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Oh, I forgot, Charles. People like you don’t believe in science. Which is odd since you use byproducts of science — computers, the Internet — to spread your hate. Or is your rationale that God sat down one day and decided to create computers and the Internet? But wait, you twisted words around to ridicule Al Gore by claiming he said he created it. You know, you people really should make up your minds! That or declare that Al Gore is God. Never mind. Don’t fret your little brain any further by trying to think. Just enjoy the ride down deeper into the tar.
on Sep 21st, 2008 at 5:11 pm
It seems strange that the most violent comments here are the ones being made by the so call loving, anti-hatred crowd.
Why should you hate these traditional marriage supporters so much because they happen to think what you’re doing is wrong? You think they are wrong for saying that you are, and you say so in much stonger- and more hateful- language. In fact, we all disagree with one another, but the Catholic church most certainly does not think that you should all be shipped off somewhere and killed, which is what Ludwig seems to think should happen to the pro-tradional marriage faction.
And Joe, by the way, we Catholics do believe in science. We just be that science is science, and not some kind of god on it’s own. Ofcourse, that really has nothing to do with the topic at hand, so I guess it was just a totally random insult, and not one the necessarily needs to be refuted at the moment.
on Sep 21st, 2008 at 8:06 pm
“It seems strange that the most violent comments here are the ones being made by the so call loving, anti-hatred crowd.”
Oh, please. You bigots, haters, hypocrites just can’t stand the fact that these days WE FIGHT BACK. We’re defending our turf. Why don’t you go on some anti-gay site where you can whine all you want and not be challenged if you don’t like what we’re saying? Better yet, have your god find some other planet for you to live on…oh, wait, I forgot. You’re stuck in the tar pit. Never mind.
on Sep 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 am
where did all these trolls come from?
and if these poor poor oppressed people had coffee thrown on them, were arrests made?
if not, wonder why
on Sep 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 am
I think we should strive to be accurate in stating the background facts:
The statement about proposition 8 that “The proposition seeks to overturn California’s recently enacted law allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state.” is off the mark.
The recent event was a court decision interpreting provisions of the state constitution, not a law enacted by the legislature. (It’s my understanding that the legislature has twice passed such a law, but each time it was not enacted because it was vetoed by the Governator.) Sounds like quibbling to some, but there is a significant difference.
on Sep 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 am
you’re really splitting hairs here; the state court ruled that same sex marriage is legal
and yes, the state legislature has passed a law only to be vetoed by the governor who stated that either the courts or the people should legalize same sex marriage; and we have the courts doing it
on Sep 22nd, 2008 at 5:09 pm
none of these people have answered to my last post.
Who the heck pays attention to any of these people who protest outside a sports event, or even moreso changes their point of view to agree with them thanks to what they see or gets handed to them(literature) by these folk?
Seems to me they’re just wasting their time.
Again, put your efforts into far more worthwhile and/or relevant causes. Just sayin’…..
on Sep 22nd, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Who cares. I’m reading about REAL issues like the collapse of financial markets, hurricane damage, and the upcoming election and I stumble upon this S$*&. Get some perspective and get over yourselves. Find some real issues to get worked up over.
on Sep 23rd, 2008 at 1:17 am
Actually, this is a real issue for some of us; it just goes to show that homophobia is alive and well in the 21st Century and these people would deny us any and all rights if they could get away with it
on Sep 28th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Blueraider said:
blueraider
on Sep 22nd, 2008 at 5:09 pm
“none of these people have answered to my last post.
“Who the heck pays attention to any of these people who protest outside a sports event, or even moreso changes their point of view to agree with them thanks to what they see or gets handed to them(literature) by these folk?
“SEEMS TO ME THEY’RE JUST WASTING THEIR TIME” (Emphasis added)
“Again, put your efforts into far more worthwhile and/or relevant causes. Just sayin’…..”
It’s always good to hear people say someone is wasting their time when they protest against some injustice, in this case same-sex “marriage” coercively imposed by four unelected San Francisco judges on Californians. If people are “wasting” their time, why do those who oppose them even bother to make their comments?
on Sep 28th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Jesus Christ!
Charles, are you that dense? We already know you’re a religious right-wing nut, and of course, a dinosaur. Now you’re showing yourself to be a moron as well. You’re one of those sad little idiots who can’t handle the fact that — and I’ll speak slowly for your benefit — WE. FIGHT. BACK. NOW. AND. WE. AL.WAYS. WILL. UNTIL. WE. BEAT. YOU.
So if you can’t understand why, after you continue to come here and troll and spread your filth about your phony-baloney god, we make comments, then you need much more help than anyone can provide.
on Sep 29th, 2008 at 9:04 am
To Joe Guckin,
Flame on!
You too are in need of God’s help, even if you don’t think so, just as my friends who are former homosexuals needed and continue to need His assistance, as we all do. While you may not agree with my last statement, or even believe God exists, that does not change the core reality that we all need God’s help.
May God help you too!
Sincerely,
Charles
on Sep 29th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
FOAD, Charles.